From horror and historical warfare to a real-life hostage crisis and a community's campaign for a railway station, South Korean cinema will take centre stage in Abu Dhabi this month.
The Korean Film Festival returns to Manarat Al Saadiyat from September 25–27 with six films spanning the drama, action, crime and supernatural genres.
This year's festival, titled Still Human, focuses on how people hold on to their humanity and dignity during periods of crisis and change. Across the films, that theme emerges in different ways, from communities working together and friendships enduring into old age, to characters facing violence and danger.
Presented by the Korean Cultural Centre in the UAE in collaboration with Manarat Al Saadiyat, all screenings are free to attend, although tickets need reserving.
Here is what to expect from the film festival.
Miracle: Letters to the President (2021)
A village's campaign for its own railway station provides the inspiration for Miracle: Letters to the President, a 2021 drama set in rural South Korea during the 1980s.
The film follows Joon-kyeong, a mathematically gifted high school student living in a remote village in North Gyeongsang province. With no roads connecting the community to the outside world, residents are forced to walk along dangerous railway tracks to get around.
Determined to change that, Joon-kyeong repeatedly writes to the country's president asking for a train station to be built. When his letters fail to produce results, he sets about trying to make it happen himself, helped by his girlfriend and sister.
The story is loosely inspired by the creation of Yangwon Station, which was built by residents and opened in 1988.
September 25, 7pm
Don't Buy the Seller (2023)
The 2023 crime thriller also known as Target – the translation of its original Korean title – stars Shin Hye-sun as Soo-hyun, an office worker who buys a second-hand washing machine through an app, only to discover it does not work.
After realising she has been conned, she tracks down the seller's other listings and begins leaving comments warning prospective buyers. But her attempt to expose the scammer puts her in the sights of a dangerous man who begins infiltrating her online and offline life.
What begins as a relatively commonplace dispute over an innocuous purchase quickly escalates into stalking, cyber harassment and physical danger.
Directed by Park Hee-kon, the film was inspired by reports and documentary programmes about crimes involving second-hand marketplace transactions in South Korea.
Saturday, 2pm; rated 15+
Noryang: Deadly Sea (2023)
Directed by Kim Han-min, the film recreates the Battle of Noryang in 1598, the final major naval battle of the Japanese invasions of Korea.
At the centre of the film is Admiral Yi Sun-sin, one of the most celebrated military figures in South Korean history, who leads an allied Joseon and Ming fleet against retreating Japanese forces.
Released in 2023, the film concludes a trilogy that began with The Admiral: Roaring Currents in 2014 and continued with Hansan: Rising Dragon in 2022.
Each film focuses on a major naval battle involving Yi, with Noryang depicting the admiral's final confrontation.
September 26, 4.30pm
The Point Men (2023)
Another film drawing on real events is The Point Men, a thriller starring Hwang Jung-min and Hyun Bin.
The story is inspired by the 2007 hostage crisis in Afghanistan, when 23 South Koreans were kidnapped by the Taliban.
Hwang plays a diplomat sent to Afghanistan to negotiate for their release, while Hyun portrays a National Intelligence Service agent working in the region.
Their contrasting approaches initially put them at odds, but the pair are forced to work together as efforts to secure the hostages' freedom become increasingly urgent.
September 27, 4pm
Exhuma (2024)
Exhuma was the highest-grossing South Korean film of 2024. It begins with a wealthy Korean-American family in Los Angeles whose newborn son appears to be suffering from a mysterious supernatural affliction.
They turn to two young shamans who trace the problem to an ancestor's grave in South Korea. A geomancer and mortician are brought in to help exhume and relocate the remains.
The decision unleashes something far more sinister, as the film delves into Korean shamanism, burial traditions and the country's colonial history.
September 26, 7.30pm
Picnic (2024)
Picnic follows Go Eun-sim and Jin Geum-soon, two elderly women whose friendship stretches back decades, as they return to their hometown of Namhae after many years away.
There, they reconnect with Tae-ho, an old friend who runs a local brewery, while confronting strained family relationships, memories of their younger lives and the realities of ageing.
The film is led by veteran actors Na Moon-hee, Kim Young-ok and Park Geun-hyung, and became a success for South Korea's independent film scene.
September 27, 6.30pm
The Korean Film Festival runs from September 25 to 27 at Manarat Al Saadiyat, Abu Dhabi; admission is free upon prebooking; kfilmfestuae.com
