A Cultural Festival Bridging Generations Draws a Large Crowd
The Dongdaemun Cultural Foundation (Chairman Lee Pilhyung) announced on the 15th that the “2025 Festa! Retro60: Dapsimni,” held at the Dapsimni Film Media Art Center from September 12 to 14, concluded successfully with a total of over 9,000 attendees.
This year’s festival, under the slogan “Beyond Boundaries, The Newest 1960,” presented new possibilities for an intergenerational cultural festival through a variety of programs and innovative use of space.
The festival’s main programs, including “Guest Visit (GV)” and “Cine Talk,” were sold out at every session, demonstrating their high popularity. The GV for director Hong Sangsoo’s film “In Our Day,” featuring actors Kwon Haeho and Ha Seongguk, “Director’s Imagination: Film Talk” with director Kim Hongjun and critic Joo Seongcheol, “Idols of the Screen,” a voice actor talk session highly popular among Generation Z, and the youth career mentoring program “Yeongo TV Career Exploration Life” all deepened the festival’s impact through direct interaction with the audience.
Performance programs such as Choi Youngjun’s silent film narration show and the “Cine Kids Film Concert” by the Dongdapcho Children’s Orchestra also received enthusiastic responses from the audience.
Praise from participating film professionals continued as well. Kim Hongjun, Director of the Korean Film Archive, said, “I saw many possibilities and hope in the passionate atmosphere of the audience,” adding, “As a branch of the Korean Film Archive, the center is performing very well, and I am pleased.”
Narrator Choi Youngjun expressed his affection, saying, “As the history of Chwalyeongso Sageori proves, this place is both the cradle of Korean cinema and the mecca of Seoul’s film scene. It was personally very meaningful to perform in such a significant space.”
This year’s festival also drew attention for its transformed spaces and hands-on content. The virtual studio and cinema studio on the second floor were turned into a “Monster Kids Cafe,” featuring a ghost camping site, escape room, and play content, which were well received by family visitors. On the first floor, a themed participatory exhibition, “Time Traveler’s Carnival 1960,” inspired by the 1960s traveling theater, opened with photo zones and experience booths, offering a variety of attractions for attendees. This exhibition will officially open on the 19th and will be free to the public until March next year.
Kim Hongnam, CEO of the Dongdaemun Cultural Foundation, said, “I am very pleased that this festival has become a successful cultural venue bridging generations,” and added, “We will continue to do our best to ensure that the Dapsimni Film Media Art Center establishes itself as a special cultural hub connecting the past, present, and future through film and media.”
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