An elderly substitute driver works through the quiet hours before dawn, transporting strangers across the city. As she encounters indifference, loneliness, and fleeting moments of kindness, she searches for human connection beneath the blinking yellow lights of Seoul. Broken Dawn is a moving portrait of dignity, resilience, and the quiet determination to keep moving forward despite life's uncertainties.
25th New York Asian Film Festival
July 10-26, 2026
Shorts: Korean Shorts
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New York Premiere
Saturday July 18, 3:00pm (Korean Cultural Center New York, Korean Cultural Center New York)
This program of short films includes Suzanne Soo Hyun Kim’s Let The Neon Lights Dance, Ru-ri Lee’s UNDERCURRENT, Annette Cho’s The Newcomer, Jiin Oh’s SPEEDY!, Juliet Belisario’s Devils In The Bush, and Hao-Oh Park’s Broken Dawn.
Q&A with Suzanne Soo Hyun Kim (Director) - Let The Neon Lights Dance; Annette Cho (Director) - The Newcomer; Juliet Belisario (Director/Screenwriter/Producer) - Devils In The Bush
U.S. Premiere
Devils in the Bush, through a collection of phone calls, follows Fei, a young Korean woman navigating a newfound love, and the distance between herself and home. Over the course of a sweltering summer, tensions arise within her relationship as she moves through intimate moments and acts of self-destruction. As a long-awaited reunion with her mother approaches, Fei finds herself caught between the life she has built for herself and the one she left behind.
Saturday July 18, 3:00pm (Korean Cultural Center New York, Korean Cultural Center New York)
This program of short films includes Suzanne Soo Hyun Kim’s Let The Neon Lights Dance, Ru-ri Lee’s UNDERCURRENT, Annette Cho’s The Newcomer, Jiin Oh’s SPEEDY!, Juliet Belisario’s Devils In The Bush, and Hao-Oh Park’s Broken Dawn.
Q&A with Suzanne Soo Hyun Kim (Director) - Let The Neon Lights Dance; Annette Cho (Director) - The Newcomer; Juliet Belisario (Director/Screenwriter/Producer) - Devils In The Bush
World Premiere
On the unforgiving streets of Seoul, elderly cardboard collector Young-Soon survives on the margins of society, finding refuge in a vivid inner world where she transforms everyday struggles into extraordinary feats of imagination. When an encounter with local authorities threatens her fragile existence, Young-Soon is forced to confront the harsh realities she has escaped.
Saturday July 18, 3:00pm (Korean Cultural Center New York, Korean Cultural Center New York)
This program of short films includes Suzanne Soo Hyun Kim’s Let The Neon Lights Dance, Ru-ri Lee’s UNDERCURRENT, Annette Cho’s The Newcomer, Jiin Oh’s SPEEDY!, Juliet Belisario’s Devils In The Bush, and Hao-Oh Park’s Broken Dawn.
Q&A with Suzanne Soo Hyun Kim (Director) - Let The Neon Lights Dance; Annette Cho (Director) - The Newcomer; Juliet Belisario (Director/Screenwriter/Producer) - Devils In The Bush
Grappling with her homeland’s rapid modernization and admiration for West, a recent Korean immigrant discovers pride in the cultural hybridity of Korea alive in New York City’s Koreatown.
Saturday July 18, 3:00pm (Korean Cultural Center New York, Korean Cultural Center New York)
This program of short films includes Suzanne Soo Hyun Kim’s Let The Neon Lights Dance, Ru-ri Lee’s UNDERCURRENT, Annette Cho’s The Newcomer, Jiin Oh’s SPEEDY!, Juliet Belisario’s Devils In The Bush, and Hao-Oh Park’s Broken Dawn.
Q&A with Suzanne Soo Hyun Kim (Director) - Let The Neon Lights Dance; Annette Cho (Director) - The Newcomer; Juliet Belisario (Director/Screenwriter/Producer) - Devils In The Bush
New York Premiere
Seoul, 1989. Jung-min wants to become a speed-reading prodigy, just like Dong-hyun—the coolest guy in town, who can finish an entire book in just 60 seconds!
Saturday July 18, 3:00pm (Korean Cultural Center New York, Korean Cultural Center New York)
This program of short films includes Suzanne Soo Hyun Kim’s Let The Neon Lights Dance, Ru-ri Lee’s UNDERCURRENT, Annette Cho’s The Newcomer, Jiin Oh’s SPEEDY!, Juliet Belisario’s Devils In The Bush, and Hao-Oh Park’s Broken Dawn.
Q&A with Suzanne Soo Hyun Kim (Director) - Let The Neon Lights Dance; Annette Cho (Director) - The Newcomer; Juliet Belisario (Director/Screenwriter/Producer) - Devils In The Bush
North American Premiere
A village near the North Korean border echoes with the sounds of military artillery and North Korean propaganda. During summer vacation, a young brother and sister venture up a mountain to gather berries. Heavy rains a month ago have damaged the trees, created a large waterway down the hill, and scattered debris at the mouth of the river. Torn warnings of unexploded bombs and landmines lie near the old barracks along the mountain trail the children follow. Soon after, the siblings stumble upon a mysterious sphere with an unknown purpose.
Saturday July 18, 3:00pm (Korean Cultural Center New York, Korean Cultural Center New York)
This program of short films includes Suzanne Soo Hyun Kim’s Let The Neon Lights Dance, Ru-ri Lee’s UNDERCURRENT, Annette Cho’s The Newcomer, Jiin Oh’s SPEEDY!, Juliet Belisario’s Devils In The Bush, and Hao-Oh Park’s Broken Dawn.
Q&A with Suzanne Soo Hyun Kim (Director) - Let The Neon Lights Dance; Annette Cho (Director) - The Newcomer; Juliet Belisario (Director/Screenwriter/Producer) - Devils In The Bush
