This year's Korean Film Festival in the Philippines will present “The Pirates,” “Assassination,” “Warriors of the Dawn,” “Dongju: The Portrait of a Poet” and “Nameless Gangster: Rules of Time," according to the Korean Cultural Center (KCC).
Movies that will be shown at the 2018 Korean Film Festival in the Philippines are (clockwise from top left) 'Assassination,' 'Dongju: The Portrait Of A Poet,' 'The Pirates,' 'Nameless Gangster: Rules Of Time' and 'Warriors Of The Dawn' (Photos courtesy of Korean Film Council)
The festival will start with the advance screening of the 2014 movie “The Pirates” on Aug. 29 at SM Megamall. The film’s director, Lee Seok-hoon, will grace the event.
The Korean Film Festival will showcase the films in Manila on Sept. 1-2 at SM Megamall, Sept. 8-9 at SM Baguio, Sept. 15-16 at SM Lanang Premier in Davao, Sept. 22-23 at SM City Iloilo and Sept. 29-30 at SM City Cebu.
“The Pirates” begins when a giant whale swallows the emperor’s royal seal on the eve of the founding of the Joseon Dynasty. With a reward to be given to whoever brings back the seal, mountain bandits led by Jang Sa-jung (Kim Nam-gil) hunts down the whale but he clashes with Yeo-wol (Son Ye-jin), the female captain of pirates.
“Nameless Gangster: Rules Of The Time,” set in '80s and '90s in Busan, shows the clashes in the underworld when the government cracks down on organized crime. A sacked corrupt customs officer, Choi Ik-Hyun (Choi Min-sik), and gangster Choi Hyung-Bae (Ha Jung-woo), form a business partnership with the money from drug trafficking. As the government intensifies its war on crime, their partnership begins to crash.
In “Dongju: The Portrait Of A Poet,” tells the story of poet Yun Dong-ju, played by Kang Ha-neul, who was imprisoned by the Japanese government in 1943 for being involved in the Korean independence movement.
“Assassination,” starring Jun Ji-hyun, Lee Jung-jae and Ha Jung-woo, is about Yeom Seok-jin, an agent from the interim government tasked with bringing together three Korean resistance fighters currently imprisoned to carry out an assassination. The assassination plot is against Japanese army commander Kawaguchi and pro-Japanese Korean businessman Kang In-guk.
In “Warriors Of The Dawn,” King Seonju escapes to the Ming Empire and abandons his people to avoid invading Japanese forces. Prince Gwanghae (Yeo Jin-goo) takes his place and confronts the enemies with the help of hired soldiers led by To-Woo (Lee Jung-jae).
All films are with English subtitle. Admission to the screenings is free.