Now in its landmark 20th year, the London Korean Film Festival (LKFF) returns from 5 to 18 November 2025. Organised by the Korean Cultural Centre UK (KCCUK) and supported by the Korean Film Council, this year’s anniversary edition will unfold across BFI Southbank, Ciné Lumière, and ICA London, offering an ambitious lineup.

The festival opens with the world premiere of Frosted Window (2025), the latest work by Kim Jong-kwan, known for his portrayals of human fragility in films like The Table and Shades of the Heart. Set across three vignettes in Seoul’s Seochon neighbourhood, Frosted Window captures the poetry of everyday life, reflecting the spirit of Éric Rohmer’s seasonal tales. Both Kim and actor Yeon Woo-jin will attend the Opening Gala for a post-screening Q&A.

The Closing Gala features Harbin (2024), a sweeping historical drama from Inside Men director Woo Min-ho. Starring Hyun Bin as Korean independence fighter Ahn Jung-geun and shot by Parasite cinematographer Hong Kyeong-pyo, the film combines epic scale with “emotional resonance”. With its haunting score by Park Chan-wook’s longtime collaborator Cho Young-wuk, Harbin is set to be one of the year’s cinematic highlights following its debut at the Toronto International Film Festival.

Adding levity to the celebration, Kang Hyoung-chul’s Hi-Five (2025) will screen as a Special Presentation, a superhero comedy from the beloved filmmaker behind Sunny and Scandal Makers.

Cinema Now strand presents a vivid cross-section of contemporary Korean cinema. It will include Shin Jea-min’s Commission (2024), a psychological thriller set in the webtoon industry; Jang Man-min’s Silver Apricot (2024), a family drama with a fantastical edge; and Namkoong Sun’s Time to Be Strong (2024), which follows three former idols rediscovering themselves on a nostalgic trip to Jeju Island. Kim Seok’s The Informant (2024) brings sharp humour to an action-packed story of an unlikely police duo, led by Squid Game’s Heo Sung-tae.

Among the more contemplative works, Park Ri-woong’s The Land of Morning Calm (2024) offers a moving study of loss and strength in a coastal town, while Park Joon-ho’s 3670 (2025) explores identity and belonging through the journey of a North Korean defector in Seoul. Somebody (2025), starring Kwon Yu-ri of Girls’ Generation, delves into the complexities of mother-daughter relationships through a psychological lens.

Curated by Son Si-nae from the Seoul International Women’s Film Festival, the Women’s Voices strand continues to champion female perspectives in Korean cinema. Hwang Seul-gi’s Red Nails (2025) portrays the fragile bond between a debt-ridden woman and her estranged mother with dementia, while Bang Mi-ri’s SAVE (2025) presents as an unexpected friendship between two women dealing with trauma and survival. Park Hyo-sun’s documentary The Meryl Streep Project (2024) examines feminist awakening in modern Korea through one filmmaker’s search for her icon.

To commemorate the 80th anniversary of Korea’s Liberation, LKFF will also present Dramas of Resistance, a special programme curated by Park Se-ho in collaboration with the Korean Film Archive. The selection revisits both classic and modern interpretations of liberation, from Lee Man-hee’s genre-defining Break Up the Chain (1971) and Kim Jee-woon’s The Good, the Bad, the Weird (2008), to Youn JK’s musical biopic Hero (2022), Lee Joon-ik’s Dongju: The Portrait of a Poet (2016), and Kim Hyun-seok’s YMCA Baseball Team (2002).

As LKFF celebrates two decades of connecting audiences to the heart of Korean storytelling, Seunghye Sun, Director of the Korean Cultural Centre UK, says: “As we celebrate the London Korean Film Festival, I am reminded of a phrase that guides my reflections on Korean aesthetics: all that is called is love. At its heart, cinema embodies this truth by offering us not only stories but a deeper understanding of the wide spectrum of the human condition.”

For tickets, go to the London Korean Cultural Centre website.

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