Focus On… Jeonju International Film Festival
One of my goals during my time in Korea was to immerse myself in the media and entertainment landscape. What better way to do that than attending a film festival. I heard about the festival from a classmate of mine and knew I had to be there.
Tuesday evening, I hurriedly packed my suitcase with all the essentials. Extra shirts and shoes that I’ll never wear-check. Absurd amount of skincare items-check. An appetite for adventure-check, check and check.
Wednesday morning arrived before I knew it and I was off. This was going to be a solo trip or so I thought. I catch my bus to Seoul station and patiently wait for my bullet train to whisk me away to Jeonju. It is the spiritual capital of Korea but once a year becomes the site of the Jeonju International Film Festival from the last week of April to the first week of May.
Arriving in Jeonju, I awkwardly wandered out of the station trying to look like I knew where I was going. Upon arriving at the public bus stop, I happened to see a large coach bus with a banner on it reading “Jeonju Int. Film Festival”. I approached the festival personnel and they invited me to take the bus into the heart of the downtown area.
After getting somewhat acclimated to the festival grounds, I head to my AirBnB for check in. I won’t go into detail about getting a tad bit lost trying to locate my room. With some sleuthing I located the establishment and was glad I chose it instead of a western style hotel.
I had some time to kill before my first film so I thought I’d grab something to eat and do some exploring. Jeonju is also famous for their bimbibap and so I made that my first meal.
Next came what any tourist does best-sightseeing. I decided to check out one of their monuments, when I was suddenly asked to fill out a tourism survey. I was in no rush, and since it was a tourism survey I wanted to do my part. Two other foreigners were also filling out the survey.We started chatting and before I knew it we were in a traditional Hanok tea house talking about all facets of life.My “solo” trip had quickly become an adventure following a trio of college students. One of my favorite things about going abroad has been the ability to make friends from all over the world. More importantly unraveling the complexities of what it means to a citizen in our respective countries. Me representing the US,my friends representing France and Turkey.
Throughout my time at the festival, I saw 10 ten films in total. Some films were made in Korea while others came from abroad. My top three films would most likely be The Last Bus, The Oldest Son and Havana. The Last Bus follows a widowed husband trying to get to Lands End to finish what he and his wife had run from many years ago. The Oldest Son followed the trials and tribulations of what it means to be the eldest son in Korean culture and balancing personal and professional time. Havana never actually took us to the city in Cuba but it makes up for it with a thrilling court-case we are thrusted into. When the body of her deceased husband is discovered all signs point to guilty but one public defender thinks otherwise. This film festival reminded me of the most powerful thing storytelling has the ability to do- make you feel something.
