The highly-anticipated Korean Film Festival is back in the Philippines this 2017, with 5 quality movies set to be shown in six major cities around the country.
Themed “Boldness of Youth,” this year’s festival will feature young characters who face various challenges in their lives. Through these films, young viewers can get encouragement if they’re facing the same situation, while older ones will be moved to reminisce about their past, or even try to understand the problems encountered by the youth of today.
To help you decide which Korean film to watch during the festival (or you can watch all of them because admission is FREE), here are the synopses of the 6 movies:
Movies
#1: Twenty (스물)
Chi-ho (Kim Woo-bin), Kyung-jae (Kang Ha-neul) and Dong-woo (Lee Junho) are best friends who’ve just graduated from high school and turned 20. Chi-ho is an unemployed playboy who prioritizes dating and chasing women. Kyung-jae is a goody-two-shoes university student whose goal is to get accepted at a corporate job. Happy-go-lucky Dong-woo dreams of becoming a cartoonist but when his family goes bankrupt he is forced to become the breadwinner of the family and take on several part-time jobs. Twenty is a story of three friends in their 20s and must decide what to do with their life.
#2: The King of Jokgu (족구왕)
Hong Man-Sub is known to be the “King of Jokgu” (a Korean sport that shares elements of both football and volleyball) and is infamous for his unstoppable foot spike. On his return to university after military service, he discovers that the Jokgu court has been removed due to complaints from the Student Council. Man-Sub, along with his team of unlikely friends, decides to file a petition to the school President in order to get the court back.
#3: Very Ordinary Couple
Lee Dong-hee (Lee Min-ki) and Jang Young (Kim Min-hee) work at the same bank. They are on an on-and-off relationship for three years before breaking up. Still working together in the same bank puts great pressure on the two, made worse by a scandalous confrontation between the former lovers during a company party. Though they end up screaming at each other, it’s vivid clear that they still have feelings for each other and decide to give their relationship another chance.
#4: My Brilliant Life
Dae-soo (Kang Dong-won) and Mi-ra (Song Hye-kyo) are parents of Ah-reum, a child who was diagnosed with the extremely rare genetic disorder, Progeria, which makes him age prematurely and rapidly. Several years later, Ah-reum grows up as a 16-year-old boy but with a body condition of an eighty-year-old man. Sensing that he doesn’t have much time left, Ah-reum decides to write a story about how his young parents fell in love and how he came to be, hoping to give as a present to them on his seventeenth birthday.
#5: How to Steal a Dog
Ten-year-old Ji-so lives in pizza truck with her family. Her father suddenly disappeared after their pizza business went bankrupt. When she sees a missing dog poster with a $500 reward, Ji-so simply believes that that amount of money would be enough to buy her family a house. She hatches a plan with her friend Chae-rang to find a dog with a rich owner, steal it and return the dog by pretending to have found it to get a reward. Their target is Wolly, the dog of an old rich lady who owns the restaurant where Ji-so’s mom works.
Schedule
Just like last year, the Korean Film Festival will be screened in the cities of Manila, Cavite, Cebu, Davao, Iloilo and Pampanga this September and October 2017. For my fellow Ilonggos, here’s the schedule of screenings in SM City Iloilo Cinema 8:
September 21, Thursday
7:00 PM – How to Steal a Dog
September 22, Friday
12:00 PM – The King of Jokgu
3:00 PM – Very Ordinary Couple
6:00 Pm – My Brilliant Life
September 23, Saturday
12:00 PM – Twenty
3:00 PM – The King of Jokgu
6:00 PM – How to Steal a Dog
September 24, Sunday
12:00 PM – Very Ordinary Couple
3:00 PM – My Brilliant Life
6:00 PM – Twenty
Here’s the full schedule of screenings in 6 cities and the SM Cinemas that will be showing it. Once again, admission to the festival films is free.
- MANILA – SM Megamall Cinema 6 – September 7-10
- DAVAO – SM Lanang Premier Cinema 1 – September 14-17
- ILOILO – SM City Iloilo Cinema 8 – September 21-24
- CEBU – SM City Cebu Cinema 5 – September 28-October 1
- PAMPANGA – SM City Clark Cinema 3 – October 5-8
- CAVITE – SM City Dasmariñas Cinema 5 – October 12-15
Ticketing Information
For Iloilo and other REGIONAL Screenings:
– First screening will be a VIP event and open only to LIMITED audience members.
– Tickets are available for FREE outside the cinema.
– Tickets will be released on a FIRST COME, FIRST SERVED BASIS.
– Viewers are suggested to line up outside the cinema and wait for the releasing of tickets.
– Ticketing procedure will vary depending on regional location. Please follow advice of SM Cinema personnel.
– Only food bought from SNACKTIME (SM Cinema food concessionaire) will be allowed inside the cinema.
The 2017 Korean Film Festival is the flagship project of the Embassy of the Republic of Korea and the Korean Cultural Center in the Philippines that aims to showcase the culture of Korea through film.
