London Asian Film Festival Invites 16 Korean Films Including Jeong Ji-woo and Eom Tae-hwa

Opens 'Sonyeondeul' and Closes 'Concrete Utopia'

Directors Jeong Ji-young, Kang Je-gyu, Lee Won-seok, and Um Tae-hwa gather in the UK.

On the 13th, the 8th London Asian Film Festival announced that it has invited 16 Korean films, including Boys (director Jeong Ji-young), Concrete Utopia (director Um Tae-hwa), 1947 Boston (director Kang Je-gyu), and Hwaran (director Kim Chang-hoon).

(From left) Directors Kang Je-gyu, Lee Won-seok, Kim Chang-hoon [Photo by Lotte Entertainment, Plus M Entertainment]

The London Asian Film Festival, opening on the 18th at the Odeon Luxe Leicester Square in London, UK, has invited 49 films from 8 Asian countries including Korea, China, Japan, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore, and the Philippines.

The opening film is Jeong Ji-young’s Boys, and the closing film is Um Tae-hwa’s Concrete Utopia. Both directors are expected to attend the festival and meet with British audiences.

The festival organizers stated, "This year marks the 140th anniversary of Korea-UK diplomatic relations, and director Jeong Ji-young is a master filmmaker who has continuously directed films for 40 years during that time. It is meaningful to premiere his new work in London."

A special section titled "Director Jeong Ji-young Retrospective" will be held. It will showcase eight representative works by the director, who has raised healthy criticism of Korean society, including South of the Mountain (1990), White War (1992), Broken Arrow (2012), and The Hollywood Kid’s Life (1994).

In the "LEAFF Official Selection," Kang Je-gyu’s 1947 Boston, Hong Sang-soo’s Our Day, and Lee Won-seok’s Killing Romance have been invited. Lim Si-wan, who won the Rising Star Award last year for Emergency Declaration, will once again showcase his passionate performance on the UK screen.

In the "Competition Section," which introduces 10 of the brightest directors in Asia, Kim Chang-hoon’s Hwaran, starring Song Joong-ki and Hong Sa-bin, and Kim Seong-hwan’s A Fraction of a Second have been invited.

Director Ha Myung-mi’s Her Hobby will be unveiled as the opening film of the "Story of Women" section, which delves more deeply into women’s stories.

Executive Committee Chair Jeon Hye-jung said, "This year, we aim to introduce a condensed history to the UK through works that reflect the current state of Korean cinema. We want to inform the UK about the past, present, and future."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.