Korean cinema ascends from Cannes outsider to global standard-bearer

Actors Kim Do-yeon, left, and Sakura Ando appear in a scene from the film "Dora," directed by July Jung. The film, a contemporary adaptation of Sigmund Freud’s 1900 case study set in a Korean seaside village, is scheduled to have its world premiere, Sunday, in the Directors' Fortnight section of the 79th Cannes Film Festival in Cannes, France. Courtesy of the Korean Film Council

For years, Korean cinema arrived at the Cannes Film Festival as a celebrated outsider, a source of visceral, high-concept energy that reliably jolted the traditional hierarchy. This year, as the 79th edition of the festival begins, that energy has been translated into institutional power.

The most visible sign of this new status is the appointment of Park Chan-wook, the director of "Oldboy" and "Decision to Leave," as the first Korean to serve as president of the main competition jury. His role as the festival’s lead arbiter marks a transition for the Korean film industry: It is no longer just a trend to be watched, but a standard-bearer for the medium.

To turn this symbolic prestige into structural influence, the Korean Film Council (KOFIC) launched an expansive commercial offensive on the Croisette. Operating from a dedicated pavilion in the International Village, the council is moving beyond the promotion of finished films toward a strategy of deep-rooted international integration.

At the heart of this effort is the "KO-PICK" initiative, a program designed to embed Korean producers and their intellectual property into the global market. This year, KOFIC is backing five producers — including Kim Ki-hyun and Mark Brazil — in high-level pitching and networking sessions through the Cannes Market’s Producers Network.

The model is already proving successful.

July Jung’s "Dora," screening in the Directors’ Fortnight, was developed through a 600 million won ($402,000) government grant and refined through previous KO-PICK programs in France. It joins a robust slate of Korean titles this year, including Na Hong-jin’s "Hope" in the main competition and Yeon Sang-ho’s "The Hive" in the Midnight Screening.

"The inclusion of these films shows that our creative and industrial competitiveness is once again at the center of the world stage," said Han Sang-jun, KOFIC chairperson.

By facilitating these direct connections between Korean creators and international partners, the council is betting that the nation’s cinematic influence can be transformed into a permanent, structural pillar of the global industry.

This article was published with the assistance of generative AI and edited by The Korea Times.