Modern Korea: The Age of Beasts (2021) 

A new documentary by Jeong Jaeeun and an episode of a classic Korean TV series are among the works that will screen at next year’s International Film Festival Rotterdam (IFFR). Both Jeong’s Modern Korea: The Age of Beasts and Choi Sangsik’s Korean Ghost Story – Ieodo (1969) are set to screen in the festival’s retrospective ‘Cinema Regained’ section.

The Age of Beasts is director Jeong’s contribution to the landmark recent TV documentary series Modern Korea, which documents tales drawn from rare archival materials. Her entry demonstrates the rampant depiction of violence against women in a wide variety of state-sanctioned media, including teleplays, variety shows and even news items.

Ieodo is an episode of Korean Ghost Story, a popular 70s TV show that explored tales of the eerie and the uncanny. The episode documents a legend about fishermen who had disappeared around the Socora Rock region and were later found to be in Ieodo, an island ruled by women who didn’t allow the men to leave. The legend was also the basis for director Kim Kiyoung’s cult classic Ieoh Island (1977). Korean Ghost Story – Ieodo was selected to screen alongside Modern Korea: The Age of Beasts, following director Jeong’s suggestion.

The International Film Festival Rotterdam, which has welcomed many Korean films over the years, has yet to reveal its full programme for 2022. Next year’s IFFR will take place from January 26 to February 6.