Films offer a slice of Korean life and culture: envoy

Movie fans will have the opportunity to watch four popular Korean films at Hamad Bin Khalifa University (HBKU) Student Centre today, the concluding day of the Korean Film Festival in Doha. The screenings are from 1pm to 4pm. Entry is free.
Like many Korean dramas, these films depict family values, humanism and perseverance, South Korean ambassador Heung Kyeong Park said.
“I hope this festival will provide a better understanding about Korean culture in Qatar and extend the continuing Korea-Qatar cultural exchanges,” the envoy stressed, adding that Korean films have been flourishing since the 1990s. The first film, ‘Forever the Moment’, is a fictionalised account of the Korean Women’s handball team, which competed in the 2004 Athens Summer Olympics, according to Park.
“It may be called an ‘underdog film’ portraying conflicts in women’s lives, their personal struggles and triumphs,” he noted. The three other films, which also provide different features of Korean lives and experiences, are Welcome to Dongmakgol (2005 drama, war, comedy), How to Steal a Dog (2014 drama, children, crime), and Born to Sing (2012 drama, comedy, music). The embassy prepared 10 films but selected four family films for the event, in co-ordination with HBKU.
Due to the growing popularity of Korean drama, films and K-pops globally in the 1990s, Park said the Korean government allowed the creation of 300 cultural industry departments in Korean colleges and universities while it lifted many restrictions on cultural imports from foreign countries.  “Many Korean films have depicted underprivileged people who faced overwhelming burdens of life with feelings of frustration and eventually came to terms with the realities,” he pointed out. “Some heroes or heroines overcame all the difficulties with tough perseverance.”
Through the festival, the envoy hopes Korean films may provide good opportunity to understand some aspects of Korean lives and experiences and motivate viewers to look into Korea closely. He described Korean films as diverse and innovative in terms of theme and plot.
“I also hope the audience will learn the simple truism that one who fiercely fight against adverse challenges has better chance of making life successfully,” Park said.
The embassy will also present Korean films at the new embassy premises at the New Diplomatic Area this year, tentatively in October. It is also preparing a Korean Food Festival and non-verbal percussion performance on the occasion of Korean National Day reception in mid-November.