Faces and Landscapes of East Asian Cinema... Busan National University to Hold Summer Academic Conference

East Asian Film Culture through Texts, Policy, and Media
2025 Busan National University Film Research Institute Summer Academic Conference on July 5

The Busan National University (President Choi Jaewon) Film Research Institute will hold the "2025 Busan National University Film Research Institute Summer Academic Conference" under the theme "Faces and Landscapes of East Asian Cinema" on July 5, starting at 12:30 PM, in Room 102 of Seonghak Hall on campus.

This academic conference aims to shed light on East Asian cinema from three perspectives: "text," "policy," and "media." It seeks to provide a multifaceted view of the changes in the region's film culture by examining the sensibility of faces and the landscapes depicted in films.

Researchers from major domestic universities, including Busan National University, Korea University, Chung-Ang University, Inha University, and Kangwon National University, as well as officials from the Korean Film Council, will participate to engage in multi-layered discussions.

The conference will consist of three sessions. Presentation topics include the shared emotions and genre evolution of East Asian melodrama, the intertextual relationship between Hong Kong and Korean cinema since the 1990s (the "Wong Kar Wai Phenomenon"), and strategies of post-Sixth Generation Chinese cinema. There will also be analyses of the structure and limitations of Japan's privately dependent film policy, a reevaluation of the role of the Korean Film Council, and changes and prospects in Chinese film policy since Xi Jinping came to power, covering various aspects of the film industry system.

Changes in the ecosystem centered on OTT (online video services) will also be a key topic. The conference will comprehensively address trends in East Asian visual culture, including Netflix's Korean original content strategy, factors driving qualitative growth in Chinese OTT platform content, and the digitalization of Japanese visual grammar.

Seo Daejeong, director of the Busan National University Film Research Institute (professor in the Department of Arts, Culture, and Visual Studies), stated, "Rather than grouping East Asian cinema under a single identity, this academic conference is an attempt to read the 'landscape' of film culture through the various faces that interact and intersect with each other. Through discussions that cross text, institutions, and media, a new horizon for film studies will open."

This academic conference is jointly hosted by the Busan National University Film Research Institute and the Office of Research Affairs, with support from the Ministry of Education, the National Research Foundation of Korea, and the Busan National University National University Development Project. Participation is free of charge, and anyone can register in advance via Google Forms. For inquiries, please contact the Busan National University Film Research Institute.