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21st Century Korean Cinema: 

Stories, Culture, and the Unseen Language of Film

 

SPEAKER: David Tizzard

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DATE: Tuesday. October 28, 2025. 7:20PM (Seoul)

VENUE: Seoul Public Activities Center (SPAC, 서울시공익활동지원센터). ‘다목적홀’

(ADDRESS: Basement Floor, 40 Baekbeomro 99-gil, Yongsan Verdium Friends(용산베르디움프렌즈) #101, Yongsan-gu, Seoul), 2-3 minutes walking from Exit 8 of Samgakji-Station (Line 6 & Line 4)

 

ADMISSION (Online & In-person): Free for RAS Korea Lifetime and Annual Members; W10,000 for Non-members; W5,000 for Non-member students (Student ID requested)

• If you would like to attend online Zoom,
• RSVPby October 27 (Monday). Zoom Link Request ☞CLICK 
• We will email you the link on the morning of the lecture day.
• For Non-member, payment to be remitted to the following account:
• SHINHAN BANK ACCOUNT # 100-026-383501 (RAS-KB)
• To attend in-person, RSVP is not required.

 

SUMMARY:

Why does Park Chan-wook’s Decision to Leave end the way it does? What does Lee Chang-dong’s Burning reveal about modern society and the crushing existential anxieties of young adults? Why do I still wake up at night gripped by the terror of Na Hong-jin’s The Wailing? And how does Yoon Je-kyoon’s Ode to My Father still make me emotional despite having watched it dozens and dozens of times?

When I first encountered Korean cinema, I often didn’t understand it. Climaxes would hit like a punch to the face, heroes would fail, and stories would end unresolved. Things simply didn’t make sense. Over time, however, I realized these films reflect deeper truths about Korean culture, social norms, and morality; truths that textbooks or academic seminars didn’t always make immediately obvious. There was a language running through these movies, subtle and unconscious, yet that made perfect sense to the directors and the audience.

By engaging with these stories and situating them within their cultural and political contexts, I began to see Korea in a new light. Cinema became more than entertainment: it became a lens for understanding society, history, and human emotion. In this talk, I will share some of that journey, exploring what I consider some of the country’s best films, directors, and actors and hopefully provide some insight into a culture that is dynamic, layered, and astonishingly honest..

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BIO:

David Tizzard is a professor at Seoul Women’s University and Hanyang University, holds a PhD in Korean Studies, and hosts the Korea Deconstructed podcast. He has lived and worked in Seoul for more than two decades. Reach him at datizzard@swu.ac.kr..

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VENUE:

The Seoul Public Activities Center(SPAC, 서울시공익활동지원센터) is located at Yongsan Verdium Friends #101 (용산베르디움프렌즈 101동) B1, 40 Baekbeomro 99-gil, Yongsan-gu, Seoul. Walk 2-3 minutes from ‘Exit 8’ of Samgakji Station (LINE 6 & 4) and take the elevator down to the B1 Floor.

Address: B1, 40 Baekbeomro 99-gil, Yongsan Verdium Friends #101, Yongsan-gu, Seoul