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Queer East · 2023

Queer East 2023

Focus Korea

Programme

6 films · 1 review

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King And The Clown (Wang-ui Namja)

Two clowns living in Korea's Chosun Dynasty get arrested for staging a play which satirises royal behaviour. They are dragged to the palace and threatened with execution but are given a chance to save their lives if they can make the king laugh.

(Country: South Korea; Year: 2005; Director: Lee Joon-ik; Writer: Choi Seok-Hwan, Kim Tae-woong; Stars: Kam Woo-seong, Jung Jin-young, Kang Seong-Yeon, Lee Joon-gi)

Memento Mori (Yeogo goedam II)

The story of a secret relationship uncovered by Min-Ah in a classmate's diary proves even more enthralling than she could imagine.

(Country: South Korea; Year: 1999; Director: Kim Tae-Yong , Min Kyu-Dong; Writer: Kim Tae-Yong, Min Kyu-Dong; Stars: Gyu-ri Kim, Yeh-jin Park, Young-jin Lee, Jong-hak Baek, Min Han, Seung-Yeon Han, Jae-in Kim, Hyo-jin Kong, Hye-mi Lee, Seong-Eon Lim, Ji-Yeon Park) , Official site

A Man And A Gisaeng

A young man who was fired from his job for being unmanly decides to dress as a woman and work as a gisaeng. He gets proposals from several of his male clients including his former boss, Heo.

(Country: South Korea; Year: 1969; Director: Shin Sang-ok, Shim Wu-Soeb; Writer: Kim Mun-Yeop, Shin Sang-ok; Stars: Do Kum-Bong, Heo Chang-kang, Kim Cheong-ja, Ku Bong-seo)

Peafowl

Review preview for Peafowl

There’s a lot of interesting work here and it’s startling to realise that it’s director Byun Sung-bin’s first venture into features.

Jennie Kermode · 3.5 out of 5
Steely Shin Myung is a fierce trans queen on the Seoul nightclub scene who reconnects with her Buddhist heritage after the death of her father.

(Country: South Korea; Year: 2022; Director: Byun Sung-bin; Stars: Hae-jun, Kim U-gyeom)

Full review

Sa Bangji

An intersex person is raised in a monastery after their mother proves to be mentally unstable. However, their confusing sexual desires prove to be too much for them bear, and they begin to slip into insanity.

(Country: South Korea; Year: 1988; Director: Song Kyeong-shik; Writer: Ahn Tae-geun, Chi Sang-hak; Stars: Lee Hye-yeong, Bang Hie, Kwak Jeong-hie, Park Am, Lee Kyeong-Hie)

Stateless Things

Kim Kyung-Mook's sparky indie feature crosscuts between the lives of two young men, one an illegal immigrant from North Korea stuck in dead-end jobs, the other the kept boy of a married businessman stifling in a swanky apartment.

(Country: South Korea; Year: 2011; Director: Kim Kyung-Mook; Writer: Kim Kyung-Mook; Stars: Paul Lee, Saebyuk Kim, Im Hyung-kook, Hyunjoon Yeom)