Still Waiting at Paengmok

K-Family Affairs

2025

In her first feature-length documentary, filmmaker Nam Arum turns her camera on her parents, two members of South Korea’s 386 Generation. The political activism of this generation came to a head in June 1987 with major protests that forced the authoritarian government to hold universal suffrage elections and implement key democratic reforms. Over 35 years later, the filmmaker reflects on the state of this democracy through a warm-hearted family portrait set against the backdrop of the country’s recent history. Using a personal and intimate cinematic style, Arum examines her father's adherence to conventionality as a high-ranking civil servant and her mother's fervent enthusiasm as a feminist activist. In the midst of these two contrasting dynamics, Arum seeks to discover her own role and how she can contribute to social change.

Forgetting and Remembering 2 : reflection

2017

In the Absence

2018

When the MV Sewol ferry sank off the coast of South Korea in 2014, over three hundred people lost their lives, most of them schoolchildren. Years later, the victims’ families and survivors are still demanding justice from national authorities.

Cruel State

2015

In April 2014, the entire nation of South Korea watched on television live as The Sewol capsized off the coast of Jindo. The tragedy left life-long wounds in the hearts of people whose family and friends had been among the 304 passengers killed. The majority of the victims were high school students on a school trip. Their parents were not even given the luxury of grieving, as they had to camp out in front of the Parliament, City Hall and the Presidential House, asking for only one thing - to know the truth about why their children had been left to die. But after more than a year, that truth has yet to be brought to light. This film is a documentation of the year-long struggle and painful soul-searching of people destined to be labelled as 'bereaved families' for the rest of their lives, as they come face to face with the naked face of their cruel country.

The Talent Show

2023

Middle-aged women start acting and launch a drama club. However, nothing big or small goes right. But they never give up the play.

President′s 7 Hours

2019

The film traces PARK Geun-hye's life back to the 1970s, when the leader-follower relationship began between PARK, who became the first lady of the Yushin regime, and CHOI Taemin, the leader of a pseudo-religion. It then examines the Sewol ferry incident, CHOI Soonsil Gate, candlelight rallies, and finally the impeachment.

The Day, December 3, 2024 'Fabricated Insurrection, Hidden Truth'

2026

On the night of December 3, 2024, South Korea was thrown into chaos. What the public first heard as "an insurrection" quickly became one of the most polarising political events in modern Korean history. This documentary revisits that night and asks a deeper question: Was it really a coup attempt or the result of a calculated political trap? Through interviews, legal analysis, and evidence, the film investigates the impeachment of President Yoon Suk-yeol and the rapid collapse of his administration. It explores claims that an overwhelming opposition majority, built through alleged election manipulation, enabled a form of "legislative dictatorship" that mirrored the path that led to President Park Geun-hye's impeachment eight years earlier.

SEWOL: Years in the Wind

2024

The 10-year struggle of the families who lost their children from the Sewol Ferry Disaster.

Dear Juhee

2026

After recovering from leukemia, Jang Juhee, who once dreamed of becoming a filmmaker, begins working at a center for independent living for people with disabilities. There, she meets documentary director Bu Seongpil, disabled and bedridden Seon Cheol-gyu, and In-sook, who lost a family member in the Sewol ferry tragedy. Shaped by childhood memories of domestic violence and years of illness-induced isolation, Jang’s gaze and inner world begin to expand through these individuals.

Life Goes On

2024

Yoo Kyung-geun, who lost her daughter Ye-eun in the Sewol Ferry Disaster, sits down at the podcast production studio. It is to meet with the bereaved families of numerous social disasters before and after the Sewol Ferry Disaster. They are Hwang Myung-ae, the mother of Han Sang-im who died in the 2003 Daegu Subway Fire, Ko Seok, the father of Gahyun and Nahyun who died in the 1999 Sealand Youth Training Center Fire, and Bae Eunsim, the mother of Lee Hanyeol who died in 1987's June Struggle. The bereaved families talk about "the life after" and their daily lives, and Yoo Kyung-geun learns to live without Ye-eun.

Reset

2025

On April 16th, 2014, the Sewol Ferry sank in South Korea, taking with it the lives of 304 of its 476 passengers. South Korea's worst maritime disaster traumatized a nation while simultaneously sinking the country's emotional spirit. The film asks why the rescue of Korea's children and people was neglected on the fateful day the Sewol sank.

Yellow Ribbon

2021

Sewol: Paused in Time

2017

In April 2014, the South Korean ferry Sewol sinks. 304 people, most of them schoolchildren, drowned. Greed and official failure contributed to the scale of the disaster. The government reacts restrictively against the rebellious parents of the victims. However, they are demanding a full investigation into the background.

Three Sides to Every Story

2024

This documentary tells the story of people who were at the scene of the 2014 Sewol Ferry disaster: journalists, bereaved families of the victims, and the survivors. Ten years after the disaster, what did it leave them? These are three omnibus documentaries with different perspectives.

Upside Down

2016

304 people drowned as the car ferry sank. Four fathers recall their memories of their children; high school students who were on their field trip. Professors, lawyers, journalists, an activist, a diver, and a politician explain why the system ultimately allowed the tragedy to occur. What is stopping the next tragedy? The world has turned upside down.