National Asian Culture Center to host 2026 ACC Big Door Cinema from Oct. 29-31

The National Asian Culture Center (NACC), an institution affiliated with the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and led by Kim Sang-wook, will host “2026 ACC Big Door Cinema” from Oct. 29 to 31 at the Big Door outdoor stage of Theater 1 at the National Asian Culture Center. The three-day event is organized by the National Asian Culture Center and hosted by the National Asian Culture Center Foundation, led by President Kim Myung-kyu.

“ACC Big Door Cinema” is the center’s signature outdoor film-screening event, which has been embraced by audiences for the 10 years since the ACC opened in 2015. The program features three films screened on a large outdoor screen on autumn nights. Kim Myung-kyu, president of the National Asian Culture Center Foundation, said the foundation would expand the event, which drew renewed attention and strong public interest during the center’s 10th anniversary last year, into an “ACC Big Door one-stop cultural festival” combining a wide range of programs, including an opening ceremony, an opening performance, film screenings, audience discussions, a film forum and a reception. “We want to offer a special experience to audiences enjoying the outdoors on autumn nights,” he said.

Kim Joo-hee, CEO of Cinedep, which is overseeing the overall planning of “2026 ACC Big Door Cinema” and its programs, selected three notable films from the 1990s and 2000s, a period often described as the beginning of the renaissance of Korean cinema. The films earned both box-office success and critical recognition and hold records for being the first or most successful of their kind: 〈200 Pounds Beauty (2006)〉〈The Contact (1997)〉〈Shiri (1999)〉. The “One Day, One Master: Fall in Love Cinema” program will select one film each night and feature meetings with its director and actors. Director Kang Je-kyu, director Jang Yoon-hyun, and actors Joo Jin-mo, Kim Tae-woo and Lee Jong-hyuk have been invited to provide audiences with special opportunities to meet them. In an era of streaming platforms and artificial intelligence, as the culture of hundreds of people gathering before a large screen is disappearing, “Big Door Cinema” aims to lower the threshold of the ACC through a generation-spanning program that taps into retro sentiment and the desire to return to analog experiences, bringing together Generation X parents and their Gen Z children.

The romantic comedy 〈200 Pounds Beauty〉 (starring Kim Ah-joong and Joo Jin-mo and directed by Kim Yong-hwa) drew 6 million viewers, making it the highest-grossing film in its genre. Director Kim Yong-hwa also directed the 10-million-viewer films 〈Along with the Gods: The Last 49 Days〉〈Along with the Gods: The Two Worlds〉. The film is a long-running favorite that combines the appeal of a romantic comedy with a social message about lookism. Joo Jin-mo, who played an album producer whose romance with singer Kim Ah-joong, a woman harboring a secret, was a highlight of the film, will attend the opening ceremony to mark the 20th anniversary of his signature film 〈200 Pounds Beauty〉 and meet audiences for the first time in years. [Thursday, Oct. 29, 7 p.m.]

The first digital love story of the analog era, 〈The Contact〉 (starring Han Suk-kyu, Jeon Do-yeon and Kim Tae-woo and directed by Jang Yoon-hyun), is a landmark modern melodrama that depicts the love between a man and woman who meet through a personal computer communications network, in an audacious production by the acclaimed film company Myung Films. The film became a sensation, with its retro atmosphere, soundtrack and imagery — including the Piccadilly Theater, record shops, pay phone booths, Polaroid cameras and LP records — drawing widespread attention, while highlighting director Jang Yoon-hyun’s delicate sensibility. Actor Kim Tae-woo, who played a man caught between two women, including the woman played by Jeon Do-yeon who had a one-sided love for him, will join director Jang Yoon-hyun for a talk concert moderated by film journalist Lee Hwa-jung. [Friday, Oct. 30, 7 p.m.]

South Korea’s first action blockbuster, 〈Shiri〉 (starring Han Suk-kyu, Choi Min-sik, Kim Yun-jin and Song Kang-ho and directed by Kang Je-kyu), is a legendary film that shook up the Korean film industry so dramatically that Korean cinema is often divided into the eras before and after its release. Director Kang Je-kyu also made 〈Tae Guk Gi: The Brotherhood of War〉, which drew 10 million viewers. Audiences can experience both the intense espionage action and the tragic fate of Han Suk-kyu and Kim Yun-jin, who fall in love without knowing each other’s identities as secret agents. Actor Lee Jong-hyuk, beloved by fans for his approachable presence across both variety shows and acting, will join director Kang Je-kyu for a talk concert and share anecdotes from the filming of his debut movie, 〈Shiri〉, as well as stories from the years since. [Saturday, Oct. 31, 7 p.m.]

“2026 ACC Big Door Cinema” will host a film forum at 3 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 31, with leading Korean film directors and producers. The forum will examine the past and present of K-movies, from the birth of South Korea’s first blockbuster to the creation of film series that drew 10 million viewers, and explore the future of Korean cinema for the next generation.

Producer Lee Eun, chair of the Korean Film Producers Association and CEO of Myung Films, will deliver the keynote address, titled “Can the Renaissance of Korean Cinema Return?” The address will focus on films that drove the changes and growth of Korean cinema in the 1990s. The panel discussion will feature film director Kang Je-kyu, a leading master who made his debut with 〈The Gingko Bed〉, considered the starting point of 1990s visual effects in Korea, and went on to direct 〈Shiri〉 and 〈Tae Guk Gi: The Brotherhood of War〉; producer Shim Jae-myung, CEO of Myung Films, who planned and produced more than 50 Korean films, including 〈Joint Security Area〉, 〈Leafie, A Hen Into the Wild〉 and 〈The Contact〉; and producer Won Dong-yeon, CEO of Realies Pictures, who produced three films that drew 10 million viewers — 〈Masquerade〉, 〈Along with the Gods: The Last 49 Days〉 and 〈Along with the Gods: The Two Worlds〉 — as well as 〈200 Pounds Beauty〉, the highest-grossing romantic comedy in Korean cinema. The forum will be moderated by film director Kim Hong-joon, former head of the Korean Film Archive and an honorary professor at the Korea National University of Arts. Film journalist Lee Hwa-jung will moderate the talk concerts, or GV sessions.

“2026 ACC Big Door Cinema” is expected to offer audiences a special experience this fall, combining the romance of an urban picnic with film screenings at Asia’s only large, transformable Big Door theater, which changes according to its content; a film forum exploring the future of K-content; and a lavish opening ceremony featuring performances of soundtracks from the films by the mixed-gender band The Ade.