"Im Kwon-taek: The Living Legend of Korean
Cinema, from Seopyeonje to Present"
Thursday, September 17, 2026
Presented by Director Kim Hong-Joon
Organized by Asian Arts Publication Lab & Arts East-West
Venue space provided by Goethe-Institut Montreal
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On Thursday, September 17, 2026, Arts East-West's Asian Art Publication Lab (AAPLab) launched its new Masterclass Series with veteran Korean film professional Kim Hong-joon, visiting Montreal from Korea. Remarkably, the event was organized in just about a week, after Kim reached out to us on short notice about his upcoming visit. This inaugural event, "Im Kwon-taek: The Living Legend of Korean Cinema, from Seopyeonje to Present," drew more than 30 participants eager to deepen or discover their knowledge of Korean cinema — all staying until the very end of a lecture that ran late into the night at the Goethe-Institut Montreal. The event ran from 5:00 PM all the way until 11:30 PM at a nearby restaurant. Seopyeonje, a low-budget musical road film built around pansori singing, went on to become one of the biggest box-office hits in Korean film history in the 1990s.
Kim Hong-joon is widely regarded as one of the pillars of Korean cinema, having worn many hats over his career — assistant director on the set of Seopyeonje, former director of the Korean Film Archive, filmmaker, emeritus professor at the Korea National University of Arts, and author of several books on Korean film. He offered an in-depth look at Im Kwon-taek's work, beginning with Seopyeonje and expanding into key selections from Im's filmography grouped by theme, alongside a broader view of the modernization of the Korean film industry. Drawing on his own personal history, Kim brought the material to life with anecdotes and stories from his time working alongside Im, keeping Montreal's audience captivated in their seats for the full run of the evening.
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The lecture was followed by a screening of Seopyeonje and an Art Talks discussion with Director Kim, moderated by Mi-Jeong Lee, Artistic Director of Arts East-West. Nineteen participants stayed for this closing discussion, and ten of them continued the conversation afterward at a nearby Chinese restaurant — a warm, casual coda to the evening, set apart from the evening's formal, academic setting, that carried on well into the night.
Among the many attendees, music composer, saxophonist, and community facilitator Janet Lumb sent us a short note of thanks after the event:
"Please send my thank you note to Mr. Kim Hong-joon. The film's storytelling through song was heartfelt and touching, and I especially loved the interplay between past, present, future, and the imaginary. The singers were extraordinary and truly soulful. I found Songhwa especially lifelike and inspiring — actress Oh Jung-hae's talent in singing and acting was profound. Congratulations to Arts East-West for presenting such a striking film and lecture."
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This turnout signals the start of a deeper commitment to our Asian Film Masterclass series, which will expand to include Asian Canadian and Asian diaspora cinema for our engaged and growing audience. The success of this first event is a testament to the importance of continuing to amplify and platform Asian arts in Montreal — something we're committed to carrying forward in our future programming.
Thank you again, and stay tuned for what's next!
KIM HONG-JOON
KIM Hong-Joon is an award-winning Korean director and screenwriter of films including Jungle Story and La Vie En Rose, as well as the author of I, a Filmmaker: Kim Hong-Joon's Film Notes and Two or Three Things You Want to Know About Movies. He served as Assistant Director on 4 of Im Kwon-taek's films, including Seopyeonje in 1993. He has decades of expertise in the Korean film industry as Former Director of the Korean Film Archive and Professor Emeritus at Korea National University of Arts.
