The Centro Cultural Coreano celebrates the 17th edition of the Korean Film Festival in Madrid, which will take place from today until next October 30 at the Cine Capitol (calle Gran Vía, 41).
Under the motto Recover the Light, the festival commemorates the 80th anniversary of the Liberation of Korea (Gwangbokjeol), a historic date that symbolizes the end of the occupation and the rebirth of a people marked by their struggle for freedom and hope.
This edition offers the Spanish public an emotional and cinematic journey through six films of great relevance, which address from different perspectives the values of resistance, sacrifice and human dignity in the face of adversity.
As highlights, the festival will premiere in Spanish cinemas and in a special way No Other Choice (2025), a novel film by acclaimed director Park Chan-wook, which had its world premiere at the prestigious Venice Film Festival and was selected to represent South Korea at the upcoming Oscars.
In addition, the festival will present the premiere in Spain of Harbin (2024), one of the most anticipated titles of recent Korean cinema. Directed by Woo Min-ho (Inside Men) and starring Hyun Bin (Emergency Landing in Your Heart), this historical blockbuster about the struggle for Korean independence comes to Spanish cinemas for the first time.
Admission is free until full capacity and no prior reservation is required.
In addition, films will be screened:
- Anarchist from the Colony (2017) – Dir. Lee Joon-ik
Based on real events, this award-winning work tells the story of activist Park Yeol and poet Kaneko Fumiko in the middle of the Japanese colonial period. With a critical and deeply human gaze, Lee Joon-ik reconstructs an era with political sensitivity and great narrative force.
- Dongju: The Portrait of a Poet (2016) – Dir. Lee Joon-ik
By the same director, this intimate portrait of young poet Yoon Dong-ju during the Japanese occupation is a key piece of Korean biographical cinema. Internationally acclaimed, it is a delicate work on the power of the word against oppression.
- Battle of the Dragon Hansan: Rising Dragon (2022) – Dir. Kim Han-min
Second installment of Kim Han-min’s naval trilogy, this war epic spectacularly reconstructs the historic battle of Hansando. With great success at the box office and multiple nominations, it reaffirms the place of historical cinema as a way to strengthen national memory.
- I Can Speak (2017) – Dir. Kim Hyun-seok
An emotional and at the same time amusing comedy drama that addresses the theme of “women of comfort” from a fresh and human perspective. Na Moon-hee offers an unforgettable performance in a film that moves without falling into sentimentality.
- Assassins The Age of Shadows (2016) – Dir. Kim Jee-woon
Directed by Kim Jee-woon (I Saw the Devil, A Bittersweet Life), one of the great masters of Korean thriller, this electrifying spy story set in occupied Korea in the 1920s combines political tension, stylized action and dazzling staging.
The Liberation of Korea, celebrated every August 15 under the name of Gwangbokjeol (광복절), is translated as “the day when light was restored”. This date not only marks the end of the occupation, but also the beginning of a new era for a people who, after years of suffering, regained their identity, their voice and their freedom.
The stories projected at this festival recall that the struggle for dignity and independence are not isolated episodes of the past, but universal and timeless themes. In this sense, each film of the festival invites to reflect on those crucial moments in which the characters must choose between fear and hope, submission or resistance.
Before each feature film, the three short films awarded in the 3rd CCCE 2025 Short Film Competition, an initiative that promotes emerging talent in Spanish cinema: 1st Prize: K-Mania/ Dir. Juan José Moya Fornieles; 2nd Prize: Letter to a mother/ Dir. Myeng Lee; 3rd Prize: From the knives of hell to the lotus flowers / Dir. Elena Gallen, and Award Recognition: Nest / Dir. Cristina Torres and Dir. Pablo Madrid.