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GENERAL INFORMATION
The Korean Film Council (KOFIC) --
KOFIC was launched in 1973 as the Korean Motion Picture Promotion Corporation (KMPPC) to provide various kinds of support to the film industry. In 1999 it was reorganized and renamed the Korean Film Commission, and given both greater independence from the government and more power to draft and implement film policy. In April 2004, KOFIC changed its name once more to the Korean Film Council to avoid confusion with local film commissions that provide support for location shooting. KOFIC's website provides information about the organization as well as film news, statistics, and other kinds of data.
The Korean Film Archive --
The Korean Film Archive (KOFA), created in 1974, is dedicated to preserving, collecting, restoring and exhibiting Korean films and other related documents. KOFA also provides a comprehensive Korean Movie Database (See below) that can be used to search for information about Korean films.
The Korea Herald, The Korea Times, and The JoongAng Daily --
Korea's three English-language daily newspapers. A search at their websites for the word "film" will often turn up articles about recent issues or reviews of new films.
WEBSITES AND BLOGS
KMDb: Korean Movie Database --
A database maintained by the Korean Film Archive that contains a tremendous amount of information, but which can sometimes be hard to search in English. Includes entries for films throughout the history of Korean cinema.
Modern Korean Cinema -- Maintained from Seoul by Pierce Conran, who writes many of his own reviews as well as news roundups, box office reports, review roundups and features.
HanCinema --
An extensive database on Korean films and TV dramas that also contains reviews and many links to outside news articles.
Hangul Celluloid --
A comprehensive review website run out of the UK by Paul Quinn since 2009. Also contains an impressive number of interviews with Korean directors and actors.
Seen in Jeonju --
Be sure not to miss the great blog written by Tom Giammarco from his home just outside of Jeonju. Tom is a longtime contributor to this site, and it's an honor to host his blog.
Foreigner's Guide to Film Culture in Korea --
Seoul-based Marc Raymond maintains this guide which he describes as: "A blog discussing what is available for foreigners in Korea (mostly Seoul) from the perspective of a graduate film student and cinephile."
VCinema --
A blog and podcast that focuses on Asian cinema, with frequent coverage of Korean films. Edited/produced by Jon Jung, with numerous regular and occasional contributors.
Korea Pop Wars --
A blog focusing on the Korean entertainment scene by Mark Russell, a freelance journalist who has written for the Hollywood Reporter, Billboard and other publications. In 2009, he published a book titled Pop Goes Korea: Behind the Revolution in Media, Music and Internet Culture.
Korean Grindhouse --
A blog on Korean cinema written by the NY-based Drew P., containing reviews on a wide selection of features.
Asian Movie Web --
A bilingual German/English website with a large number of reviews of films from across Asia. Also provides some reviews of film soundtracks and links to trailers, etc.
Subway Cinema a film programming and exhibition collective in NYC. --
Formed by a group of devout Asian cinema fans, Subway Cinema is a programming and exhibition collective in New York City committed to promoting Asian films. Each year they hold a widely attended Korean Film Fest, and in 2002 they were contracted by Samuel Goldwyn to produce a website for the film Shiri.
KOREAN TV DRAMAS
Soompi.com --
A frequently-updated site about Korean pop music with a wealth of information about TV dramas as well. Contains news, discussion boards, reviews, synopses, and more.
ONLINE DVD STORES
YesAsia.com --
One of the biggest online sources for Asian films. They currently offer a large number of subtitled and unsubtitled DVDs and VCDs. They also offer a selection of unsubtitled Korean videos.
Seoul Selection --
A source for DVDs, books, CDs, and other Korean cultural products. This company also has a store in downtown Seoul (you can find a map on the site), and they publish a wide variety of books and magazines including the monthly Seoul magazine.
AsianDB.com --
Launched in November 1998 and formerly known as Iodo.com and Koreapop.com, AsianDB.com is a retail company based in Seoul which offers a wide selection of Korean videos and VCDs over the internet. They also provide information and news articles about Korean film.
KOREAN LANGUAGE SITES
Cine21 --
An online edition of Korea's weekly film magazine, including news, reviews, features, interviews, etc. An archive of back issues is also available on the site.
Naver news wire --
A comprehensive daily listing of film-related news stories from all of Korea's various online news services, hosted by Korea's biggest web portal. This is the site that Korean journalists check every day to see what is going on.
Djuna Board --
One of Korea's most active and interesting online discussion forums for all things cinema-related, run by online critic Djuna.
WEBSITES IN OTHER LANGUAGES
http://cinemakorea.org (Japanese) --
The premiere source of information on Korean film in Japanese, launched originally as Seochon.net in 1998.
Cinemasie (French) --
A large French language website/database about Asian cinema.
Pride-of-Korea.de (German) --
A site about Korean films, music, and books with a large amount of reviews, essays, and other information.
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FILM FESTIVALS
The Busan International Film Festival (BIFF, formerly PIFF) -- Korea's largest film festival is held every fall in the southern port city of Busan. Many people call it the most important film festival in Asia. Usually held in early to mid-October.
The Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival (BiFan, formerly PiFan) -- BiFan is devoted to the screening of aesthetically diverse genre films that appeal to the general public. Usually held in late June or July.
The Jeonju International Film Festival (JIFF) -- JIFF features an extensive program which emphasizes digital and alternative film. Usually held in late April/early May.
The Seoul International Women's Film Festival -- The SIWFF, formerly known as the Women's Film Festival in Seoul, was launched in 1997, and centers around works by women filmmakers (particularly those from Asia). Usually held in late summer.
The Jecheon International Music & Film Festival -- held in the regional city of Jecheon, this is Korea's only festival devoted to music-related films and live performances. Usually held in mid-August.
The DMZ Korean International Documentary Film Festival -- A documentary film festival held close to the demilitarized zone separating North and South Korea, and devoted to promoting peace and understanding. Usually held in September.
The Seoul Eco Film Festival -- (formerly called the Green Film Festival in Seoul) A festival launched by the Korea Green Foundation and devoted to films related to the environment. Usually held in mid-spring.
The Seoul Independent Film Festival (SIFF) -- A long-running showcase for the leading independent films (short, mid-length, feature, documentary) made in the previous year. Usually held in late November/early December.
Indieforum (Korean Independent Film & Video Makers Forum) -- One of the oldest festivals devoted to Korea's independent film scene. Launched in 1996, the festival has screened a large number of short films, documentary, digital works, and more. Recently the festival itself hasn't been held on a regular basis, but the organizers still maintain the site and hold occasional events and screenings.
Gwanghwamun International Short Film Festival -- Formerly known as the Asiana International Short Film Festival, this event highlights short films from around the world.
The Busan International Short Film Festival (BISFF) -- formerly titled the Busan Asian Short Film Festival, this is one of Korea's oldest festivals devoted entirely to short films. It is also an Oscar qualifying festival, meaning that winning films will be considered for the Oscar best short film category. Held in Busan and featuring a wide variety of local works and other short films from Asia, the festival usually takes place in late April.
Korea Queer Film Festival -- Held in tandem with the Korea Queer Culture Festival. Government interference gave this festival a rocky start in the mid-1990s, but since then it has established itself as an annual event with significant grassroots support. Organized by the Seoul Queer Archive, the festival is typically held in early summer.
The Jeongdongjin Independent Film Festival -- An event held in the seaside community of Jeongdongjin, with indoor and outdoor screenings of diverse independent films. Usually held during the first week of August.
The Muju Film Festival -- A festival held in the rural resort area of Muju in southwestern Korea, with outdoor and indoor screening facilities. Usually held in June.
The EBS International Documentary Film Festival -- A documentary festival that consists of both theatrical screenings and a simultaneous broadcast of festival selections on the public TV station EBS. Awards are provided to selected films in their competition section. Usually held in late August.
The Bucheon International Animation Festival (BIAF) -- (formerly the Puchon International Student Animation Festival or PISAF) An animation film festival held in the satellite city of Bucheon. Usually held in mid-autumn.
The Seoul International Extreme-Short Image & Film Festival (SESIFF) -- A festival devoted to extreme short films, with the motto "Anyone can make a film." Usually held in September.
The Ulju Mountain Film Festival (UMFF) -- Held in spring each year in the southeastern city of Ulju, near Ulsan. Like other mountain film festivals around the world, the UMFF combines screenings of films related to nature and mountaineering with various outdoor events.
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