Poster for director Na Hong-Jin’s film ‘Hope’. Photo Plus M

The Cannes International Film Festival (hereafter the Cannes Film Festival) has once again thrown its doors wide open to Korean cinema. From the appointment of the jury president to the invitation of two titles, interest is focusing on whether Korean films will greet a spring again on the stage of international film festivals.

At a press conference announcing the official selections of the 79th Cannes Film Festival, held on the morning of the 9th (local time) at the Pathe Palace in Paris, France, two Korean films were called as invitees to major sections. They were director Na Hong-Jin’s SF (science fiction) thriller ‘Hope’ and director Yeon Sang-Ho’s zombie title ‘Gunche’.

‘Hope’ made the Competition lineup, while ‘Gunche’ was named for the Midnight Screening. ‘Hope’ will vie for the top honor, the Palme d’Or, alongside about twenty films invited to Competition. The leads of ‘Hope’Hwang Jung-Min, Jo In-Sung, Jung Ho-Yeonand the leads of ‘Gunche’Jun Ji-Hyun, Koo Kyo-Hwan, Ji Chang-Wook, Shin Hyun-Beenare all expected to walk the red carpet in force.

A Korean film’s advance to Competition last happened in 2022 with Hirokazu Kore-eda’s ‘Broker’ and Park Chan-Wook’s ‘Decision to Leave’. It is welcome news after four years. In 2022, ‘Broker’ brought actor Song Kang-Ho the Best Actor award, and ‘Decision to Leave’ earned director Park Chan-Wook the Best Director award.

Poster for director Yeon Sang-Ho’s film ‘Gunche’. Photo Showbox Co., Ltd.

There was no Midnight Screening title last year either. In 2024, Ryu Seung-Wan’s ‘Veteran’, in 2023 ‘Escape: Project Silence’, and in 2022 ‘Hunt’ received invitations. As no Korean films were named in either Competition or Midnight Screening at last year’s Cannes Film Festival, a controversy over ‘passing on Korean cinema’ erupted, but this year the two titles offer a chance to restore honor.

Korean films that featured at Cannes last year included ‘Early Summer’ by director Heo Ga-Young, invited to the Cinefondation. In Critics Week’s short and medium-length section, director Jeong Yu-Mi’s ‘Glasses’ provided some support. The absence of international festival invitations, together with the slump in Korea’s domestic market, became a headwind that deepened the industry’s frown lines.

This year, however, the mood is different. It was announced early that director Park Chan-Wook would serve as jury president. On February 25, the festival’s organizing committee announced that Park would lead the Competition jury. Park is the first Korean to serve as a Cannes jury president. Among Asian directors, it is the first time in twenty years since Wong Kar-Wai in 2006. Last year, director Hong Sang-Soo served as a juror.

Coincidentally, ‘Hope’ and ‘Gunche’ are among this year’s highly anticipated Korean films, and both combine science fiction and thriller. ‘Gunche’ opens in May, and ‘Hope’ in July. Directed by Na Hong-Jin, known for ‘Chugyeokja’, ‘Hwanghae’, and ‘Gokseong’, ‘Hope’ depicts an unbelievable reality that unfolds after the head of a harbor substation located in the Demilitarized Zone hears from local youths that a tiger has appeared.

Director Park Chan-Wook, appointed president of the Competition jury for the 79th Cannes Film Festival. Photo Sports Kyunghyang DB

After invitations with ‘Chugyeokja’ to Midnight Screening in 2008, with ‘Hwanghae’ to Un Certain Regard in 2011, and with ‘Gokseong’ to the Out of Competition section in 2016, director Na Hong-Jin has reached Competition for the first time with ‘Hope’. On four consecutive invitations, he said, “It is an honor. I will strive harder in the time that remains.”

Returning to Cannes for the first time in ten years since ‘Busanhaeng’, director Yeon Sang-Ho’s ‘Gunche’ follows survivors isolated inside a building sealed off by a mysterious infection, who confront the infected as they evolve in unpredictable ways. Regarding the Cannes invitation, Yeon said, “I am delighted by the Cannes invitation, and I am especially excited to be able to screen in the Midnight Screening, which can be called a gathering place for genre films from around the world.”

The number of Korean entries in the remaining sections may still increase. Under a Korean jury president, how will ‘Hope’ fare when it comes to awards? What will the local response be to ‘Hope’ and ‘Gunche’? This year’s Cannes Film Festival has drawn even greater attention thanks to the active presence of Korean cinema.