New Korean Independent Cinema from the 2025 Busan International Film Festival

Written by Luke Black (@theghostoflukeblack)

2025 marked the 30th edition of the Busan International Film Festival and its continued vision of being the “Hometown of Asian Films”. With 40 world premieres of Korean feature films, BIFF remains at the forefront of the new wave of Korean independent cinema. 

During the festival, I attended seven screenings of new Korean films from the Competition, Vision, and Korean Cinema Today – Panorama sections. Here’s an overview of films to keep an eye out for at Korean independent cinemas - particularly Emu Cinema (에무시네마) and KU Cinemateque (KU시네마테크), which regularly offer English-subtitled screenings of Korean independent films.

The Accordion Door 아코디언 도어 (2025)

Writer/Director SON Kyeong-su 손경수

A moody middle schooler with a talent for writing deals with the pressure of growing up - first love, parents and school. An otherworldly encounter at 9 years old has left him with no memory of his childhood. His alienation from his peers grows as he begins to suspect that his special talents may not be his own but those of the alien body snatcher he encountered as a child. Utilising its fantastical elements, the film explores the lasting effects of childhood trauma.

Be My Baby 미아 (2025)

Writer/Director Yoo Jong-seok 유종석

When Seorim - a nurse drowning in bad debt - has a chance encounter with the unhoused young woman she blames for a tragedy in her family, she formulates an elaborate plan to get her revenge. Yoo Jong-seok’s debut mystery/thriller crafts a slow-burning cat-and-mouse game as the two women descend into a web of suspicion, betrayal and murder.

Funky Freaky Freaks 충충충 (2025)

Writer/Director Han Chang-lok 한창록

Taking its Korean title from the Korean characters 충, featured in the film’s three intertitles: 충동 (impulse), 충돌 (collision), and 충격 (shock), the debut feature from Yoo Jong-seok is as bombastic and frenetic as the title promises. In a run-down town, a group of high school misfits from troubled homes have been left to raise themselves unsupervised on the internet. When a cruel, wealthy transfer student enters their orbit, they spiral into escalating acts of digital humiliation and physical violence. Reminiscent of Run Lola Run and The Dirties, the camera work of cinematographer Kim Jong-soo 김종수 never stops moving or distorting to create a vision of high school that is loud, bright, chaotic and dangerous.

The Gorals 산양들 (2025)

Director Yoo Jaewook 유재욱 / Writers Yoo Jaewook 유재욱 & Keum Hyoje 금효제

A timid teen facing the end of high school spends her time taking care of the ducks, chickens and rabbits in the school zoo. When she is forced into a university prep class, she meets three other girls who don’t fit in - an intimidating survivalist, a desperate people-pleaser, and a girl recovering from a serious illness. A rumour that the school will close down the zoo brings the girls together as they build a sanctuary deep in the woods for the animals - and themselves. As their friendship blossoms, they help each other navigate bad boyfriends, difficult parents and the fast encroachment of adulthood. The film is a sweet, heartwarming and funny endeavour anchored by its entirely charming young cast.

The Love of Truman 트루먼의 사랑 (2025)

Director Kim Dukjoong 김덕중

A sad sack fast food worker who feels invisible has his life changed by a chance encounter with a manic pixie dream girl who opens his eyes to the true nature of reality. There are ‘errors’ in the world that cause people to freeze up like a glitch, but most people don’t notice. She compares the phenomenon to the film The Truman Show and dubs those people who are truly conscious in the world, Truman. They set out to find other Trumans who can see the world for what it is and become entangled in a love triangle with another Truman. The central mystery of the film largely acts as a backdrop to the philosophical exploration of how a person is supposed to live in a broken world.

The Observer’s Journal 관찰자의 일지 (2025)

Director Lim Junghwan 임정환

A triptych of short films that share a cast and thematic elements like film directors, Serbia and philosophic conversations. The three narratives do not directly overlap, but in each director Lim Junghwan presents slice-of-life vignettes that begin to unravel as obfuscated mysteries borrowed from spy and crime genre tropes tilt the lives of the characters. Utilising a consistent style of static shots and long takes, the actors are left to explore their scenes and performances.

The Second Child 두 번째 아이 (2025)

Director Yu Eun-jeong 유은정

After three years in a coma following her older sister’s apparent suicide, 13-year-old Soo-an wakes and tries to reintegrate into life with her damaged mother, a suicide survivor counsellor. When Soo-an meets a teen runaway who is her dead sister’s doppelganger, a childhood bedtime story of a shadow from the underworld seeking to swap bodies with children begins to reveal a family curse. More dark fairytale than outright horror film, The Second Child is a creepingly insidious thriller about suicide and those left behind.