FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

August 26, 2016

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HONOLULU, HAWAI‘I—Korean Cinema returns to the museum for a second year, and this year’s lineup promises to deliver some of the best films released in Korea in the past year.

The festival opens with the New York Times Critics’ Pick The Train to Busan, an apocalyptic zombie thriller set on a Seoul-to-Busan bullet train. Released just three weeks ago in Korea, the film is already one of only 14 movies in Korean film history to surpass 10 million domestic viewers.

The Wailing—another New York Times Critics’ Pick—takes the demonic possession horror genre to the next level. The two-and-a-half-hour supernatural thriller takes place in a rural village that becomes unsettled with the arrival of a mysterious stranger. The film was released to international claim, and currently boasts a score of 100 percent on Rotten Tomatoes.

On a lighter note: Like for Likes is Korea’s answer to the multiple-narratives-that-link-together-rom-com-featuring-mega-star-ensemble-cast genre à la Love Actually, complete with a dramatic running-through-an-airport sequence. The film features three couples navigating their love lives through social media. How 2016!

THE LINEUP

The Himalayas (히말라야)
Directed by Lee Seok-hoon. 2015. South Korea. 125 min. Korean with English subtitles.
September 3 at 4 p.m.
September 6 at 1 p.m.
September 9 at 7:30 p.m.
September 13 at 1 p.m.
Mount Everest has inspired sweeping, tension-filled films from around the world. Based on a true story, the film follows renowned mountaineer Uhm Hong-gil as he sets out on a mission to retrieve the bodies of fellow Korean climbers who died on Mount Everest in 2004. Viewers won’t want to miss the like-you’re-there opening avalanche scene.

Train to Busan (부산행)
Directed by Yeon Sang-ho. 2016. South Korea. 118 min. Korean with English subtitles.
September 3 at 7:30 p.m.
September 8 at 1 p.m.
September 13 at 7:30 p.m.
September 16 at 7:30 p.m.
First-class passengers don’t know they’re in for the ride of their lives when they board a South Korean bullet train. Gong Yoo stars as Sok-woo, a corporate salaryman trying to reconnect with his estranged daughter by taking a trip to visit her mother in Busan. The train ride becomes a fight for survival for the passengers in this zombie thriller/socioeconomic statement. Sok-woo and the other survivors are pushed to the extremes to reach their final destination in this thrilling action-packed zombie horror film. Train to Busan gives new meaning to the anarchist motto, “eat the rich.”

Spirits’ Homecoming (귀향)
Directed by Cho Jung-rae. 2016. South Korea. 127 min. Korean with English subtitles.
September 4 at 1 p.m.
September 6 at 7:30 p.m.
September 11 at 4 p.m.
September 14 at 1 p.m.
A shocking painting inspired filmmaker Cho Jung-rae to tackle a subject viewed as taboo in conservative South Korea. Yet his film about comfort women, more than 10 years in the making, has been embraced. During the Japanese occupation of Korea at the height of World War II, two teenage girls, Jung-min and Young-hee, are kidnapped and forced to become sex slaves by invading soldiers. As the two are brutalized with constant sexual assault and beatings they plan their escape, but only Young-hee survives. Decades later, she tries to reunite with the spirit of her lost friend.

Like for Likes
Directed by Hyeon-jin Park. 2016. South Korea. 120 min. Korean with English subtitles.
September 4 at 4 p.m.
September 7 at 1 p.m.
September 14 at 7:30 p.m.
September 16 at 1 p.m.
This star-studded rom-com follows three couples as they try to navigate their romantic attachments through social media in modern Seoul. Sung-chan (Kim Joo-hyuk), a chef, bickers with his new landlady Ju-ran (Choi Ji-woo), a hapless flight attendant when they are forced to live together. Roh Jin-woo (Yoo Ah-in), a hot young TV star, pines for the older established screenwriter Jo Kyung-ah (Lee Mi-yun), with whom he had an affair years ago and who may have had his son. Su-ho (Kang Ha-neul) is a songwriter falling for the manic pixie dream girl TV producer Na-yun (Lee Som) while trying to keep his deafness a secret.

Dongju: Portrait of a Poet (동주 예고편)
Directed by Lee Joon-ik. 2016. South Korea. 110 min. Korean with English subtitles.
September 4 at 7:30 p.m.
September 9 at 1 p.m.
September 11 at 7:30 p.m.
September 15 at 1 p.m.
Lee Joon-ik’s (King and the Clown) latest film follows the life of renowned poet Yun Dong-ju. Focusing on the period of Japanese occupation during World War II, it depicts the young poet as he starts to write about the harsh realities of life. His resistance poetry draws the ire of the Japanese government and he is eventually detained and abused under suspicion of participating in the Korean Independence Movement. Known for blockbuster hits, Lee Joon-ik switches gears to make a gently-paced, black-and-white film that perfectly expresses the poet’s legacy.

The Wailing (곡성)
Directed by Na Hong-jin. 2016. South Korea. 156 min. Korean with English subtitles.
September 7 at 7:30 p.m.
September 11 at 1 p.m.
September 15 at 7:30 p.m.
September 17 at 1 p.m.
In this unbelievably tense supernatural thriller, a rural village is unsettled by a double murder. As he investigates the crime, police sergeant Jong-gu (played endearingly by Kwak Do-won) is led to a mysterious Japanese man, whose appearance causes suspicion among the locals—suspicion which quickly turns to hysteria as the townspeople begin killing each other in brutal outbursts for seemingly no reason. As Jong-gu watches his daughter fall under the same savage spell, he agrees to consult a shaman for answers— unknowingly escalating the situation into something far more dangerous. This is a hardcore horror film that takes demonic possession to a new level.

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Doris Duke Theatre information:
The Doris Duke Theatre opens its doors on Kina‘u Street one half-hour before each film screening and concert.

Film tickets: Available at the theater door on the day of screening, beginning one half-hour before each showing, or online in advance.

Film admission: $10 general admission; $8 museum members; free for children 17 and under

Matinee Rewards Card: Pick one up at the theater box office. When theatergoers attend three matinees, they receive free admission to a fourth screening. Or they can bring three friends to a single matinee and receive free admission to a future screening. The free screening pass is valid for three months.

Concession stand: In the lobby, visitors can purchase bags of glazed pecans, coconut ginger, chocolate- and Kona coffee–coated macadamia nuts, and butter crunch vanilla macadamia nuts, for $6 per bag. Also on the menu are handmade desserts and baked goods from Yummy Tummy, including peanut butter-oats-and-cranberry energy balls, green tea rice crispy treats and mini cookies ($3-$7). Drinks: coffee, hot tea, Arizona Green Tea, Vitamin Water, and bottled water ($2-$3).

About the Honolulu Museum of Art

One of the world’s premier art museums, the Honolulu Museum of Art presents international caliber special exhibitions and features a collection that includes Hokusai, van Gogh, Gauguin, Monet, Picasso and Warhol, as well as traditional Asian and Hawaiian art.

Located in two of Honolulu’s most beautiful buildings, visitors enjoy two cafés, gardens, and films and concerts at the theater. The museum is dedicated to bringing together great art and people to create a more harmonious, adaptable, and enjoyable society in Hawai’i.

Locations:

Honolulu Museum of Art: 900 S. Beretania Street
Honolulu Museum of Art Spalding House: 2411 Makiki Heights Drive
Honolulu Museum of Art School: 1111 Victoria Street
Honolulu Museum of Art at First Hawaiian Center: 999 Bishop Street
Honolulu Museum of Art Doris Duke Theatre: 901 Kinau Street (at rear of museum)

Website: www.honolulumuseum.org

Phone: 808-532-8700

Hours:

Honolulu Museum of Art: Tues–Sat 10 am–4:30pm; Sun 1–5 pm; closed Monday.

Honolulu Museum of Art Spalding House: Tues–Sat 10am–4pm; Sun noon–4pm

Admission (permits entry to both museums on the same day):

$10 general admission; children 17 and under are free.