Program: 

2/13 (Tuesday) - Capitol Dahlem - OmU

택시 운전사 - A Taxi Driver (Jang Hoon, 2017) 2 hour 17 minutes

Synopsis:

In May 1980, a Seoul taxi driver named Man-seob (played by Song Kang-ho) picks up a foreign passenger, the German journalist Peter (played by Thomas Kretschmann) and heads to Gwangju. Peter promises to pay Man-seob 100,000 won if he can return before the curfew. Man-seob agrees because his rent is overdue and takes the German reporter to Gwangju without knowing any English.

Gwangju and its people are in turmoil. “I don’t know, they say something about a riot…” Man-seob manages to get through the checkpoint to reach his destination, where he must collect his fare to pay his rent. Despite Man-seob’s objections to the danger, Peter begins filming with the help of university student Jae-sik (played by Ryu Jun-yeol) and Hwang Ki-sam (played by Yoo Hae-jin). However, the situation becomes increasingly dire, and Man-seob becomes increasingly anxious about his daughter being home alone…

Talk:

• Park Un Kyoung (Chief Executive Producer, The LAMP)

After graduating in Korean literature, PARK Eun-kyung landed her first job in marketing at Cheil Worldwide Inc. before joining IBM a few years later. She entered the film industry in 2002 when she was hired as head of marketing by Showbox Mediaplex. She later moved to the finance division, with The Chaser (2008) being the first film she has executive produced. In 2011, she founded her own film production company The LAMP. Her fourth movie as an independent producer, A Taxi Driver (2017), became in 2017 one of the most-watched Korean films in history.

• Judy Ahn (Head of International Business, Showbox Corp.) 

Judy Ahn is the Head of International Business at Showbox / Mediaplex, a Korean motion picture studio established in 2002. She is responsible for the hit Korean War film “The Front Line” directed by Jang Hun, which was selected as South Korea’s entry for consideration to be nominated to the Oscars foreign language film category. Ahn has been instrumental in promoting Showbox’s films and has been involved in planning promotional activities for The Front Line at the American Film Market (AFM) before final nominations were announced for the 2012 Oscars best foreign language film category. She has also been involved in planning special screenings of director Jang Hun’s films Rough Cut (2008), Secret Reunion (2009) and The Front Line together with the Korean Cultural Center in Los Angeles. Ahn’s work has helped Showbox / Mediaplex become one of the leading investment and distribution companies in the Korean film industry.

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2/14 (Wednesday) - Institute of Korean Studies - OmU

밀정 - The Age of Shadow (Kim Ji-woon, 2016) 2 hour 20 minutes

Synopsis

The Age of Shadows (2016) takes you on a journey back to the late 1920s, where a group of courageous resistance fighters are on a mission to bring in explosives from Shanghai to destroy key Japanese facilities in Seoul. But the Japanese agents are always one step ahead, and the stakes are higher than ever in this cat-and-mouse game of espionage and danger. When a talented Korean-born Japanese police officer is thrown into the mix, he finds himself torn between his loyalty to his country and his desire to support a greater cause. Will he do what's right, even if it means going against everything he's ever known?

Talk:

• Lee Jinsook (Producer, Harbin Films)

Lee Jinsook is the CEO of Harbin Films and the producer of the 2016 South Korean period action thriller film The Age of Shadows directed by Kim Jee-woon. 

• Judy Ahn (Head of International Business, Showbox Corp.)
  

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2/15 (Thursday) - Capitol Dahlem - OmU

수궁 - Sugung-The Underwater Palace (Yoo Suyeon, 2023) 1 hour 32 minutes

Synopsis

Sugung (2023) is a documentary about Korean tradition music theatre (Pansori). Jung Ei-jin (79), the last transferee of the four Gukchang families, is looking for a transferee of the Dongpyeonje “Sugungga”. Jung Ei-jin has many disciples, but everyone is unsuitable as a transferee due to circumstances. Jung Ei-jin is suffering because she can’t find a successor as she ages.

Talk:

• Yoo Suyeon (Director)

Yoo Suyeon is a South Korean film director. She directed the documentary Sugung (The Underwater Palace), which premiered at the 24th Jeonju International Film Festival in 2022. 

• Lee Jinsook (Producer, Harbin Films)