South Korean film festival commences

A two-day film festival was organised in collaboration with the Pakistan National Council of Arts (PNCA) to commemorate a week of diplomatic ties between Pakistan and the Republic of South Korea.

Keeping in mind the security warnings and fears, it was not exactly a ‘house full’ audience, but very well attended and the film screened for its enjoyment was ‘Le Grand Chef,’ based on a popular comic book series. English subtitles have been used to tell the story.

Addressing the audience, ambassador of South Korea, Shin Un welcomed the movie buffs and said the embassy had contemplated on whether to cancel the screening, but decided against the move because all of us must act as normally as possible under the circumstances. Adding that South Koreans and Pakistanis were very different from each other and had a different set of values and culture, he felt that the movie chosen for screening would showcase Korean culture in a manner and on a subject that can be understood by everyone. “Cultural interaction is very important for people to understand each other,” he said, “so I hope you enjoy the movie and acquire a little more knowledge of our country’s rich traditions.”

Before the main movie and while waiting for invitees to arrive, a documentary showcasing many aspects of Korean culture — food; fashion; paper making; language etc was screened and provided an insight to its diversity. For instance a language, which has been developed that can be easily understood by people all over the world, with pottery like ‘Chosun white’ for decoration and ‘Oongi ware’ which add ‘flavour and taste’ to food being the most interesting subjects.

The storyline of the movie — a contest to see who is ‘Le Grand Chef’— has already appeared in the preview, (Tuesday) so I will not dwell on that but will add that there are stories within the main story that are very touching. They eventually tie up into the whole but are interesting in themselves, especially the one about why the emperor cried while eating the beef soup prepared by the royal chef. The ingredients of the soup symbolise the determination and resilience of the Korean people to remain independent and uphold national pride and this spirit prevailed even while outside forces were ruling the country for a while.

Film makers Huma and Farooq Beg said it was ‘a very good film’ and I agree but I still maintain that it was not an appropriate film for a coffee morning (ladies I spoke to were of the same opinion), but for a screening to a mixed public audience it was a good choice — the subject was such that everyone could understand — food, as well as human foibles and failings that are common to people around the world — jealousy; greed and the desire to win whatever the cost. Good triumphs over evil in the end and all’s well that ends well, teaching many lessons if you are willing to learn!

After the screening, the ‘light refreshments’ turned out to be a full fledged dinner of Korean specialties, many of which had been featured in the film. The hosts had thoughtfully provided the usual snacks like sandwiches; mini-burgers etc: in case Korean food was not a preference and these were enjoyed mostly by the children or those who did not see the Korean food.

Chef Tae Seok Kim, of the Korean embassy was present and received compliments on his expertise, while the ambassador and his wife along with other members of the embassy were showered with appreciation on both the movie and the generous meal.