DGK Wins Gender Equality Award at UN Peace Corps SDGs

Min Yonggeun (left) and director Yoon Je-kyun, co-CEOs of DGK. Provided by the Korean Film Directors Association

The Directors Guild of Korea (DGK) announced on September 30 that it has received the Gender Equality award at the 2025 UN Peace Corps SDGs Awards.

The SDGs (Sustainable Development Goals) are a set of international joint goals adopted at the United Nations General Assembly in 2015, consisting of 17 goals and 169 specific targets. DGK was recognized for its contributions in Goal 5, the Gender Equality category.

Since the mid-2010s, DGK has been actively addressing issues of sexual violence and gender discrimination that have emerged within the film industry. In 2018, as the MeToo movement spread, DGK released the “Joong-Ji-Shin Code of Conduct” for eradicating sexual violence, urging the creation of a production environment free from sexual harassment and the establishment of protection measures for victims.

In 2020, DGK expanded on the awareness raised by the Bechdel Test and launched “Bechdel Day.” At this event, DGK introduced a Bechdel Test based on seven criteria: the number of female characters, their mutual dialogue, independence of conversation topics, participation of female creators, narrative weight, exclusion of hatred and discrimination, and breaking stereotypes. Bechdel Day annually reviews gender equality perspectives through screenings and talks, selects works with a high gender equality index as the “Bechdel Choice 10,” and recognizes creators as “Bechdelians,” thereby broadening dialogue between the industry and audiences.

DGK has worked to establish a culture of gender equality through institutionalizing systems for preventing and responding to sexual violence, highlighting works and creators from a gender equality perspective, organizing public events, and building archives.

The judging panel commented, “This award is not just for creative activities but recognizes DGK’s social role in improving inequalities in the film production environment.” DGK plans to continue promoting a culture of gender equality, with Bechdel Day at its core.