January 25-27, 2008

The University of California, San Diego (UCSD) is proud to present the first North American Korean film festival dedicated to both Republic of Korea (ROK) and Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) contemporary films. This three-day event, to be held in Atkinson Hall at the University of California, San Diego, features five ROK and five DPRK feature films plus a documentary film about Korean immigrants in the former Soviet Union, (all with English subtitles). In addition, there will be lectures and panel discussions delivered by distinguished film directors, film producers, and scholars from the Korean National University of Arts, Princeton University, University of Michigan, University of Southern California, UC Irvine, and UCSD.

The films from the ROK have become famous throughout Asia and, from there, have reached audiences worldwide. Meanwhile, the world has had virtually no exposure to the works of filmmakers in the DPRK. For this event, the UCSD Libraries has worked with related parties for more than two years to select and add English subtitles to the five most representative contemporary films from the DPRK. Under the different political, social, and economic systems, the two Koreas have developed disparately different socio-political structural and process models which this event hopes to give much deserved academic attention from different perspectives and deeper understanding to the wider community.