Park Joon Ho delivers a fascinating, deeply poignant story of one man’s search for fulfillment. An escapee from North Korea, Cheol-jun (Cho Youhyun) is having trouble adjusting to life in Seoul. Shy, socially awkward, and deep in the closet, Cheol-jun is advised to join a social group for young gay men, but venturing into the subculture of open homosexuality, he finds its customs and codes hard to understand. Hiding his true self from his fellow “defectors”, Cheol-jun tries his best to gain admission to university, while holding onto the hope of reuniting with his parents…
As the confused, unformed protagonist, Cho gives a superb performance. From his restrained body language to his halting speech and perplexed, almost blank facial expressions, he radiates innocence and honesty — qualities that work against him in a social scene defined by brashness and irony. Park’s film walks a fine line: the writer-director is humane enough to avoid cynicism, and honest enough to reject false uplift.
Youhyun Cho, Hyeonmok Kim
South Korea
2025
In Korean with English subtitles
Indigenous & Community Access
Indigenous Access Tickets Community Access Tickets Ticket Donation Requests
Credits & Director
Producer
Lee Hyein
Screenwriter
Park Joon Ho
Cinematography
Han Sangkil
Editor
Park Joon Ho
Production Design
Choi Junsik
Original Music
Lee Soobin
Park Joon Ho
Born in Yeosu, South Korea, Park Joon Ho studied film directing at the Korean National University of Arts, where he made several short films, including EUNSEO (2019) and Almond: My Voice is Breaking (2017). Before directing his debut feature 3670 (2025), he worked as a screenwriter.
Filmography: Almond: My Voice is Breaking (2017)
Spotlight on Korea
See more films in this series
Wrangler
Two sisters face each other down over the course of this tense, mysterious psychological thriller. Hayoung is trainer of violent rescue dogs; Sora is fresh out of prison. Their reacquaintance will lead to a violent, cathartic climax.
Edhi Alice: Take
Kim Ilrhan's doc explores the lives of two trans women. Alice is a lighting director who dreams of becoming a dancer; Edhi is a counsellor preparing for gender reassignment surgery. The film is notable for its honesty and its wealth of detail.
Savon
This sleek, polished, jet-black comedy-thriller tells the story of Jae-in, an aspiring actress who gets in a sticky situation with her boyfriend, only to discover a soap company with a side service cleaning up bigger-than-average messes.
No Other Choice
Adapting Donald E Westlake's novel of ruthless corporate head-hunting The Ax, virtuoso filmmaker Park Chan-wook whips up his trademark blend of high style, suspense, and satire, in keeping with his classics Oldboy, The Handmaiden, and Decision to Leave.
Sua's Home
In this darkly compelling drama, an orphaned tennis player is forced to be as competitive at home as she is on the court. Chosen to be the live-in trainer of a wealthy girl, teenage Young-sun soon finds herself caught up in deceit and manipulation.
Winter Light
Da-bin has a broke mother, a runaway brother, and a sister who’s going deaf, but gets by thanks to his best friend and caring girlfriend. Poignant and poetic, this is a film that explores the pain of adolescence and the stress of competing loyalties.