Director Lee Joon-ik’s short drama 〈Father’s Home-Cooked Meal〉 opens the door to the 1st Korea Short Drama Awards. It was selected as an invited work for the awards ceremony to be held at KOFA Cinematheque, the main venue of the Korea Film Archive located in Sangam-dong, on Aug. 29 (Sat). A vertical-format short drama with a runtime of a whopping 2 hours and 36 minutes, 〈Father’s Home-Cooked Meal〉—the first short drama ever to receive an official theatrical release—will meet general viewers through the Korea Short Drama Awards ahead of its Sept. 6 release. It is a chance to suggest new viewing experiences amid shifting content-industry trends. The original work 〈Father’s Home-Cooked Meal〉 by short-drama platform Resin Snacks had previously been officially invited at the 30th Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival (BIFAN) held last month, alongside Director Lee Won-seok’s short drama 〈A Beloved Death〉. Invited to the festival’s “Platform Special: Short-Form Cinema” within the “Fantascope” section, the film expanded a vertical short drama typically consumed on mobile into a theater screen, drawing significant attention. As a work that delivers fresh stimulation and a change of perspective to the conventional language of short dramas, it is also a fitting choice for the start of the Korea Short Drama Awards, which aims to uncover new talent.
Based on the webtoon of the same name by author Go-ri-ta, 〈Father’s Home-Cooked Meal〉 tells the story of how family relationships change when a wife, Soon-ae (Lee Jeong-eun), finds herself unable to cook, and her husband, Ha-eung (Jung Jin-young), cooks home-cooked meals for the first time. Ha-eung, who believes he needs to start the day with a hearty breakfast of soup and stew and has never once skipped breakfast while living that way, was unaware of his wife Soon-ae’s labor and sacrifice every morning. But after his wife collapses, he finally comes to understand the weight of “home-cooked meals” and the true meaning of “a ‘shikgu’ (食口),” meaning the people you share meals with in one household. Production early on drew major buzz from the meeting of Lee Joon-ik, a representative director of South Korea who directed 〈The King and the Man〉, 〈The Sado〉, 〈The World of Married Couples?〉, and 〈Arowana〉, along with the trusted pairing of actors Jung Jin-young and Lee Jeong-eun. Jung Jin-young and Lee Jeong-eun each portrayed Ha-eung’s transformation from frustratingly rigid to slowly but steadily more substantial, and Soon-ae’s ability to move freely and calmly between cheerfulness and hurt feelings with excellence. And through the son character, played by Byun Yo-han, who watches the family’s changes closest of all, as well as actress Park Ji-yeon, who recently gained big popularity as the outspoken “Woo-jin Mom” in Netflix’s series 〈Correct Education〉, the drama adds an attractive warmth to its family story through a finely tuned ensemble.
Director Lee Joon-ik kept the original work’s sensibility—listening to a family’s private voice through “food”—while also strengthening immersion with a story and screen composition that fit short-drama grammar, as well as his careful interpretation of the characters. With a dramatic structure that keeps running in one breath without any chance to get bored, and with visual direction, you can also glimpse the director’s own warm perspective and depth that transcends the medium. Regarding the invited screening, he said, “This is a work made to capture the warmth of everyday life that I didn’t know was so precious because it felt so natural.” He added, “Within the vertical frame, you will be able to look even deeper into the characters’ inner lives. I hope you can feel the unfamiliar yet overwhelming immersion that the vertical screens of short dramas provide on a large theater screen.” After the film screening, a GV (a dialogue with audiences) with Director Lee Joon-ik is also scheduled, hosted by Lee Hwa-jeong, a film journalist.
The Korea Short Drama Awards, co-hosted by Cineplay and the Korea Film Archive to discover and support future K-content, began accepting entries from last May with prize money totaling 20 million won, and with about 200 works submitted by the July 20 deadline for submissions. To find potentially promising new creators, theatrical feature film directors were excluded, but established directors and new directors who have already had their potential recognized through various short-drama platforms took on challenges not only in live-action films, but also in works across diverse media and genres such as AI films and animation. With the chair of the jury, Director Min Gyu-dong, at the lead, the Korea Film Archive’s managing director Moeun-young, CEO and director Han Jeong-su of Yeondu Company, Kim Won-jin, director and overall supervisor of MCA Creative HQ, and also actress Lee Yeon, who recently became widely popular for playing the role of Dobiseo in Netflix’s series 〈Lady Dobyse of the 21st Century’s Great Army〉, a five-member jury is reviewing the main-round entries that passed a rigorous preliminary review. The 12 main-round entries are as follows.
Director Kim Min-jung 〈Zombie Syndrome Season 1〉
Director Kim Won-ho 〈Murder Trip〉 | Starring Jeong Ji-in, Ryu Seung-mu, Byun Ji-seok
Director Park Kyung-min 〈Red Shadow〉 | Starring Ji-woo, Cha Seon-woo, Yoo Hyeong-gwan, Ju Soo-jung
Director Sim Hyeong-jun 〈There Are No Wings for the White Angel〉 | Starring Han Jae-in, Jo Chae-yoon
Director Yang Ho-seok 〈Code Name: Villain Stepmother〉 | Starring Jeong Ye-in, Han Jeong-wan
Director Um Se-hyeon 〈Lucky Horror Live Show〉 | Starring Jo I-keun, Kim Ji-sung, Jeong Woo-jin
Director Lee Saet-byeol 〈Betting Man: God’s Eye〉 | Starring Jeong Jun-hwan, Kim Young-hoon, Go Do-ha, Choi Ha-seul
Director Lee Yu-jin 〈If You Can See the Length, We Cast〉 | Starring Lee Yu-jin, Cha Kyung-eun, Yoo Tae-joo
Director Lee Ju-seung 〈The Woman in the Apartment Above a Murderer〉 | Starring Lee Ju-seung, Yoon So-i, Lee Ho-young
Director Jang Ji-won 〈Die or Punch〉 | Starring Kang Yun, Park Tae-rin
Director Jeong Seong-bin 〈Daytime Chores, Nighttime Office〉 | Starring Jeong Gu-hyeon, Kim Geun-mok, Kang So-yeon
Director Han Soo-ji 〈Snake and Ladder〉 | Starring Park Ju-won, Yoo Shin, Woo Ji-han
The 1st Korea Short Drama Awards, to be held on Aug. 28 (Sat), will be conducted in two parts starting at 13:00, with a screening of 〈Father’s Home-Cooked Meal〉 and a time for a talk with Director Lee Joon-ik, and beginning at 17:00, with Part 2 featuring an awards ceremony that presents the New Creator Award, the AI Short Drama Award, the Excellence Award, the Actor Award, and the Grand Prize, as well as a screening of the grand-prize-winning work. The New Creator Award winner will receive one “EOS R6 V KIT” sponsored by Canon Korea as the prize. For the AI Short Drama Award, Excellence Award, Actor Award, and Grand Prize winners, the prize bonus includes a “WiiM Sound Wiim Sound Smart Streaming Speaker” sponsored by Orpheo as a trophy. Online ticket reservations on the Korea Film Archive website open 5 days before the screening, at 11:00 a.m. on Monday, Aug. 24. Reservations are required separately for Part 1 and Part 2. For more details about the 1st Korea Short Drama Awards, including an outline and schedule, you can check on Cineplay’s official website. For press inquiries regarding the 1st Korea Short Drama Awards, please contact Cineplay (02-325-0233).
Host/Organizer: Cineplay, Korea Film Archive
Sponsors: The Hankyoreh, Korea Creative Content Agency, Korea Music Copyright Association, Dito Investment, Fangoji and Y, Gyeonggi Content Agency, Canon Korea, Next Certified Tax Accountants, Taegukdang, Getty Images Korea, Orpheo, Popcorn & Media
Cooperation: Big Ocean ENM, New Universe, SOON ENT, Bamboo Network, Code Créon, Big Title, Everyreels
Cineplay Chief Editor Jo Seong-cheol
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