Busan Film Festival Unveils Korean Cinema Lineup: Na Hong-jin's 'Hope' Leads Nine-Film Showcase
Na Hong-jin's Hope, a Cannes competition title with a cast spanning Hwang Jung-min, Zo In-sung, Hoyeon, Alicia Vikander and Michael Fassbender, anchors the Korean Cinema Today selections at the 31st Busan International Film Festival, unveiled on 25 August 2026 Variety. The festival runs 6–15 October in and around the Busan Cinema Center, with the 21st Asian Contents & Film Market following 10–13 October.
The Korean Cinema Today section splits into two streams: Panorama and Special Premiere. Panorama rounds out a six-title lineup with four world premieres. Hope screens there as a Korean showcase stop after its Cannes competition berth — a section that gives festival audiences a look at films already tested on the global circuit alongside brand-new work BIFF Newsletter Vol.6.
Yoon Dan-bi's The World Before takes the Toronto-to-Busan route: a world premiere in Toronto, then an Asian premiere in Busan. Yoon's 2020 debut Moving On won four prizes at BIFF in 2019, including the Netpac Award Variety.
Kim Hye-ja returns to the screen for the first time in nine years in Still Shining, directed by Song Il-gon — whose credits include Spider Forest (2004) and BIFF's 2011 Opening Film Always. Two first-time directors land in Panorama: Hong Sung-min's Sinner, starring Jung Sung-il and Park Ji-hyun, and Lee Yong-jae's Ugly Duckling Ms. Maeng, pairing Lee Sun-bin with You Chea-myung. Kim Joung-hoon's ensemble mystery Final Interview, led by Cho Yi-hyun, Kim Jae-won, Shin Seung-ho, Kang You-seok, Kwak Dong-yeon and Bae Gang-hee, rounds out the section Variety.
Special Premiere, the strand for Korea's most anticipated commercial titles, features three world premieres. Kim Ji-hyun's Cattle Run stars Ryu Seung-ryong and Park Hae-jun as estranged brothers protecting a newborn calf during a village crisis. Lee Hu-bin's Sapiens casts Jung Sung-il and You Chea-myung as a suspect and attorney in a kidnapping case. Kim Sung-yoon's The Sorry Generation — its director's Fragment won the CGV Award and the Chorokbaem Media Award at BIFF in 2024 — follows a comic family clash between an exorcism and an ancestral spirit, with Jung Jae-young and Lee Yi-kyung Variety.
The On Screen section, launched in 2021 to give audiences an early theatrical look at the year's most anticipated drama series — each screening a portion of its episode order — returns with three selections. Netflix's Dead-End Job, directed by Kim Da-min (whose FAQ won the Aurora Media Award at BIFF in 2023), screens four of its eight episodes. Disney+'s The Remarried Empress, directed by Cho Suwon (I Can Hear Your Voice, Still 17), shows three of ten. Netflix's Blue Road, from Han Jun-hee (whose D.P. won Best Drama at the 2022 Baeksang Arts Awards), screens three of eight Variety.
What gives the lineup its texture is the mix: a Cannes-calibre auteur title alongside first-time feature directors, streaming premieres beside a screen legend's return after nearly a decade. The 31st edition is the first under new director Jung Hanseok, who has signalled plans to launch a competition section and champion Asian cinema as part of revitalising the festival The Hollywood Reporter.
BIFF notes that schedules can change without prior notice.
