Free film screenings, including renowned film director Bong Joon-ho’s movies, will be held under three bridges across the Han River and a park in Seoul on Saturday evenings.
Under Wonhyo Bridge (Seoul Metropolitan Government)
As part of the annual Han River Under the Bridge Film Festival, 23 movies spanning five themes will be screened free of charge at 8 p.m. on Saturdays from July 20 to Aug. 17, according to the Seoul Metropolitan Government.
The four locations are Cheonho Bridge in Gwangnaru; Cheongdam Bridge in Ttukseom; Wonhyo Bridge on Yeouido; and Seoul Battleship Park in Mangwon-dong.
Under Cheongdam Bridge (Seoul Metropolitan Government)
In celebration of the centennial of the birth of Korean cinema, the five-week event will feature mostly Korean movies.
For the first week, on July 20, the festival will feature films of South Korean director Bong Joon-ho, who won the Palme d’Or prize at the Cannes Film Festival in May for his social satire “Parasite.”
His directorial debut “Barking Dogs Never Bite” will be screened under Cheonho Bridge, “Snowpiercer” under Cheongdam Bridge, “Sink & Rise” and “The Host” under Wonhyo Bridge, and short films at Seoul Battleship Park.
English subtitles will be provided for all of Bong’s movies.
2019 Han River Under the Bridge Film Festival's program (Seoul Metropolitan Government)
On July 27, the festival will feature South Koreans’ favorite movies, including “Christmas in August” by Hur Jin-ho under Cheonho Bridge and “Architecture 101” by Lee Yong-ju under Wonhyo Bridge.
Classical Korean movies from the 1950s will be screened with English subtitles on Aug. 3, and Korean films with popular movie soundtracks on Aug. 10.
On the last weekend of the festival, Aug. 17, films on Korea’s independence movement against Japanese colonial rule will be screened, marking the 100th anniversary since the establishment of Korea’s provisional government. Korea’s Liberation Day falls on Aug. 15.
The film festival is a major part of the annual Hangang Summer Festival launched in 2013, which has drawn about 10 million people to riverside areas.
More details on the movie lineup can be found at http://hangang.seoul.go.kr /project.
By Ock Hyun-ju (laeticia.ock@heraldcorp.com)