Cinematheque KOFA

Current Programme

4·Korean - Classic Films: The Gingko Bed

Date : 2026.08.12.Wed | Venue : Cinematheque 1

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4·Korean - Classic Films: The Gingko Bed 대표 이미지

4·K-Classic' is a program that pairs screenings of Korean films restored and digitized in 4K by the Korean Film Archive (KOFA) with post-screening talks. This edition presents Kang Je-kyu's film The Gingko Bed, digitally restored in 4K in 2025 from the original 35mm negative and the sound of the duplicate negative. A fantasy spanning a thousand years, realized with computer graphics then unfamiliar to Korean cinema, the film proved the commercial viability of CG and is regarded as the starting point of Korean film's visual effects lineage. Upon release in 1996, it became one of the year's biggest Korean hits, while General Hwang (Shin Hyun-jun), a supporting villain, grew popular enough to eclipse the leads, and Lee Dong-jun's score sold nearly 200,000 albums. It also earned Kang Best New Director at both the Grand Bell and Blue Dragon Awards, and Cine21's Movie of the Year. A film that commanded the spotlight on every front returns after thirty years, in the most complete picture and sound it has ever had. The screening will be followed by a conversation with director Kang Je-kyu and actor Shin Hyun-jun, moderated by Kim Hye-sun, editor-in-chief of the KOFIC web magazine Korean Film.

Films