Moving Images
Updated every Saturday
Secret Sunshine
Tracing the harrowing pain of a mother lost between the grief of losing her child and the concept of Christian forgiveness. We translate the complex role of Protestantism in Korea and the weighty theme of divine silence for a global audience.
Taegukgi: The Brotherhood of War
Illuminating the enduring scars of ideological warfare and unyielding brotherhood amidst the Korean War. A visceral look at how national division destroys the ordinary lives of its people.
Mr. Sunshine
An epic tale of love and rebellion during the twilight of the Joseon Dynasty. The essay unpacks the complex love-hate relationship with the motherland from a Korean-American diaspora perspective.
Reply 1988
This nostalgic portrait of a 1980s Seoul neighborhood evokes 'jeong' (deep emotional attachment), mirroring the lost homelands carried in the hearts of immigrants.
Exhuma
Standing on unfamiliar foreign soil, confronting the ancestral scars buried beneath the earth of the homeland—a chronicle of healing and the search for our deepest roots.
Architecture 101
Beautifully equating the process of building a house with the memory of a 1990s college first love. A deeply nostalgic essay for anyone drifting between the memories of yesterday and today.
Memories of Murder
It revisits the collective trauma of the 1980s military dictatorship and the scars of an unsolved case left behind by incompetent state authorities. It illustrates how the oppressive atmosphere of the era ruins individual lives.
The Way Home
A poignant reflection on the rural-urban divide, translating the untranslatable warmth of 'Jeong' through a grandson's bond with his traditional grandmother.
Ode to My Father
Tracing modern Korea's turbulent history through one man's lifelong sacrifices for his family. The piece contextualizes the postwar generational trauma and the early waves of Korean labor migration to places like Germany.
My Sassy Girl
Looking back at the early 2000s rom-com phenomenon, we analyze the delightful cultural shift and the playful subversion of traditional patriarchal gender roles in Korea.
Welcome to Dongmakgol
A touching fantasy of conflict and reconciliation as South Korean, North Korean, and US soldiers gather in a remote village during the Korean War. It gifts a warm dream of peace and coexistence to immigrants observing their divided homeland from afar.
A Taxi Driver
Witnessing the 1980 Gwangju Uprising through the eyes of an ordinary taxi driver, we reflect on the legacy of sacrifice for South Korean democracy and what it means for the diaspora born out of that tumultuous era.
Mother
Deconstructing the terrifying, boundless depths of Korean maternal devotion known as 'Mojeong'.
Sunny
Showcasing the essence of Korean 'Jeong' by cross-cutting 1980s teenage sisterhood with their adult present. This film acts as a precious window for the diaspora to glimpse their parents' vibrant youth.
Burning
Sharply yet carefully delves into Korea's invisible class divides and the helplessness of youth. It reads the 'marginal man' identity of the diaspora through characters hovering between two worlds.
Default
Spotlighting the urgent, high-stakes week of the 1997 Asian Financial Crisis, this explores the origins of the economic trauma deeply embedded in the collective unconscious of modern Koreans.
Joint Security Area
The tragedy of the North-South division is mournfully told through the forbidden friendship of border guards. We trace how the shadows of a divided homeland impact the Korean diaspora's sense of identity.
Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter... and Spring
Glimpsing the Korean Buddhist philosophy that explores human greed, atonement, and spiritual awakening through the cycle of seasons. It guides global audiences through the Eastern cyclical worldview in contrast to Western philosophy.
Peppermint Candy
Tracing a man's life and the scars of Korean society by flowing backward through time.
Riceboy Sleeps
The film tenderly portrays the painful compromises of identity faced by Korean diaspora children while honoring the quiet, relentless strength of immigrant mothers building home and love in a foreign land.