Italian Premiere | In Competition | Best Screenplay Candidate | Online
South Korea, 2025, 119’, Korean
Directed by: Yoon Ga-eun
Screenplay: Yoon Ga-eun
Cinematography (color): Kim Ji-hyun
Editing: Park Se-young
Production Design: An Ji-hye
Music: Lee Minhwi
Producers: Jenna Ku, Kim Se-hoon, Baek Kyung-won
Cast: Seo Su-bin (Jooin), Jang Hye-jin (Tae-sun), Kim Jeong-sik (Su-ho), Kang Chae-yoon (Yura), Lee Jae-hee (Hae-in), Go Min-si (Mido)
Date of First Release in Territory: October 22nd, 2025
The effervescent high school student Jooin is popular, good at school, talented at taekwondo and beloved by her teachers. She has a close circle of friends, as well as a new boyfriend. At home, she playfully banters with her mother and cute younger brother, and visits a Buddhist temple on weekends with her grandmother. She even takes part in a volunteer group in her free time. In every respect, she seems to be well-adjusted and thriving.
Of course, there is a “but” to this story. Things start to unravel one day when a fellow student Su-ho starts a petition at school. It’s related to a disturbing event in their community, in which a convicted sex offender is about to be released from prison and return home. Jooin has no personal connection to this case, but she gets into an argument with Su-ho, and loses control of her temper. Soon her fellow students begin to suspect that there is something wrong with Jooin.
The World of Love is the kind of film that you don’t want to know too much about before you sit down to watch it. One of the film’s strengths is how it carefully reveals information to the viewer in a way that is both surprising and dramatic. And yet, at the same time, it’s the kind of movie where viewers should be prepared for what they are about to watch. Although no disturbing content is shown directly on the screen, what starts as an upbeat drama about high school girls gradually evolves into something quite serious and emotionally devastating.
Director Yoon Ga-eun occupies a unique place within the Korean film community, having specialized in making films about young female protagonists. Her widely-praised debut
The World of Us (2015) is about rivalry and broken friendships in an elementary school, but viewers expecting a “children’s film” are often unprepared for how much dramatic intensity the story contains. Director Yoon is also a kind of genius in getting believable, natural performances out of child actors. Yoon’s second feature
The House of Us (2019) centers around a friendship between a middle-school student whose parents are considering divorce, and two younger girls who may be forced to leave their home. Once again, the protagonists of this film are children, but the themes are quite heavy and serious.
The World of Love is very much a Yoon Ga-eun film, but at the same time it feels like a continuing evolution on the part of the director. Once again she elicits amazing performances from her cast, which includes an incredibly talented Seo Su-bin in the lead role, making her debut. Jooin’s mother is played by Jang Hye-jin, who made an unforgettable impression in
The World of Us before being cast by Bong Joon-ho in
Parasite. In terms of the film’s themes, I don’t want to give away too much in this review, but the director’s tackles some very serious issues in a way that is innovative and thought-provoking. When the film was released in Korea in late 2025, the response from audiences and fellow filmmakers was electric. But all of them came out of the theater saying the same thing: don’t read any reviews before watching this film.
Yoon Ga-eun
A graduate of the Korea National University of Arts, Yoon Ga-eun first attracted attention for her short film Guest (2011) which won the Grand Prix at the 34th Clermont Ferrand Short Film Festival. Two years later Sprout (2013) won a Crystal Bear for Best Short Film at the Berlinale’s Generation Kplus section. Her feature film debut The World of Us (2015) screened widely at festivals including at the 17th FEFF. Her follow-up The House of Us was invited to many festivals including the London Film Festival, the Hong Kong Asian Film Festival and FEFF.
FILMOGRAPHY
2015 – The World of Us
2019 – The House of Us
2025 – The World of Love