“I’m a Fan of Director Yeon Sang-ho!” French Mother and Daughter Show Huge Love for K-Movies at Cannes

“I’m a fan of Director Yeon Sang-ho and actor Ji Chang-wook.”

In front of the Palais des Festivals in the resort city of Cannes, Southern France, a French mother and daughter were spotted standing side by side holding a sign written in Korean. The sign expressed their hope to find invitation tickets for the movie ‘Swarm’.

Met at noon on the 15th (local time), Marie and Cathy shared that they were searching for tickets for the Midnight Screening of ‘Swarm’ taking place later that night. They expressed their excitement, saying, “We want to see Director Yeon Sang-ho, Ji Chang-wook, and Jun Ji-hyun.”

The duo traveled from Nice, which is not far from Cannes. Marie, who has experience staying in Korea, shared, “‘Train to Busan’ by Director Yeon Sang-ho is my absolute favorite movie. I’ve been waiting because I really want to see this film.”

When asked if she likes Korean cinema, Marie replied, “I watched the movie ‘The Classic’ yesterday, and it was so wonderful. I loved the actors, including Jo In-sung, and the music by Kim Kwang-seok was beautiful.”

As a member of the French MZ generation, Marie also loves songs by Kim Kwang-seok, Lee Moon-sae, and Im Jae-bum. She mentioned that these songs were recommended to her by a taxi driver while traveling in Korea with her mother last year.

Her mother, Cathy, is also a huge K-drama fan. “I’ve watched many of Ji Chang-wook’s works, and I came to Cannes specifically because I wanted to see him,” she said, mentioning titles like ‘THE K2’ and ‘Welcome to Samdari’.

As the status of K-movies and dramas continues to rise, more people in France are recognizing Korean directors and actors. Even in the press room of the Cannes Film Festival, where journalists from all over the world gather, it’s common to meet foreign reporters who ask, “Are you from Korea?” while mentioning their favorite Korean actors and works.

Meanwhile, four Korean films were invited to the 79th Cannes Film Festival, which opened on May 12 (local time). These include Director Na Hong-jin’s ‘Hope’ (Competition), Director Yeon Sang-ho’s ‘Swarm’ (Midnight Screening), Director Jung Ju-ri’s ‘Dora’ (Directors’ Fortnight), and Director Choi Won-jung’s short film ‘Bird’s Rhapsody’ (La Cinef).