Throughout May, audiences gathered at the Korean Cultural Centre in South Africa for a new edition of K-Cinema Club that placed some of Korean cinema’s most acclaimed performances at the centre of the conversation. Titled Actors in Question, the three-week series brought together three award-winning films — Secret Sunshine (2007), On the Beach at Night Alone (2017), and Broker (2022) — each anchored by a celebrated performance and united by questions that resist easy answers. Rather than focusing on a particular director, genre, or historical period, this edition of K-Cinema Club explored how powerful performances can draw audiences into questions of grief, faith, love, loneliness, family, and belonging. The series featured performances by Jeon Do-yeon, Kim Min-hee, and Song Kang-ho, all of whom received major international recognition for their work. The series opened with Lee Chang-dong’s Secret Sunshine, a film that prompted audiences to reflect on loss, faith, forgiveness, and the limits of human resilience. A week later, Hong Sang-soo’s On the Beach at Night Alone shifted the conversation toward memory, heartbreak, and self-reflection, inviting viewers into a quieter but equally complex emotional landscape. The final screening, Broker, concluded the programme with a moving exploration of family, care, and the unexpected bonds that can emerge between strangers. Each screening was followed by lively discussions among audience members, with conversations often continuing well beyond the formal programme. Participants shared personal interpretations of the films and engaged with the difficult questions raised by the stories, creating an atmosphere that reflected the growing appetite for international arthouse cinema among local audiences. Reflecting on the series, Jaeil Lee, who curates the Centre's film programme, said the series was designed to move beyond simply screening popular films and instead encourage deeper engagement with cinema as an art form. “We wanted to create a programme that would not only introduce audiences to outstanding Korean films, but also invite them into meaningful conversations about the questions these stories leave behind,” Lee said. “What was especially encouraging was seeing how openly audiences engaged with the films and with one another. The discussions became just as memorable as the screenings themselves.” He added that the strong response demonstrated a growing interest in more diverse and thought-provoking Korean cinema among South African audiences. “Korean cinema is often associated with its major commercial successes, but there is also a rich tradition of films that challenge, provoke, and encourage reflection. This series showed that local audiences are eager to engage with those works as well.” More than a film screening series, Actors in Question became a space for reflection, conversation, and shared discovery, demonstrating the growing appetite among South African audiences for thoughtful and challenging Korean cinema. Following the enthusiastic response to the series, the Korean Cultural Centre plans to continue introducing South African audiences to the diversity of Korean cinema through a wide range of screenings, discussions, and special film programmes.                       Korean Cultural Centre in South Africa (KCCSA) | 주남아공한국문화원   • Website: https://sa.korean-culture.org/en • YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@kccsa • Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kcc.sa/ • Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kccsa • X: https://twitter.com/KCC_SA

    Durban’s coastline turned into a lively celebration of Korean culture on 23 May as Travelling Korea, a large-scale mobile Korean cultural festival hosted by the Korean Cultural Centre in South Africa, returned to the city following strong demand from local audiences last year. Held at The Barnyard Theatre Suncoast, one of Durban’s busiest entertainment and shopping destinations, the one-day event drew around 1,000 visitors throughout the afternoon, reflecting the growing popularity of Korean culture in the region. While K-pop fans formed a large part of the crowd, the event also attracted many families and first-time visitors curious to experience Korean culture firsthand. Parents and children could be seen moving between performances, traditional activities, and cultural booths together, creating a festival atmosphere that extended well beyond the usual Hallyu fan audience. The programme featured a broad mix of performances showcasing different sides of Korean culture. Alongside energetic K-pop dance performances, audiences were introduced to traditional Korean fan dance, Korean folk songs, and even trot — Korea’s long-running popular music genre known for its emotional melodies and singalong energy. The diversity of the performances offered many visitors a chance to experience Korean culture beyond what they typically encounter online. Throughout the day, visitors also took part in a variety of interactive activities, including hanbok (traditional Korean attire) experiences, Korean-themed crafts, and hands-on activities related to Hangeul, the Korean alphabet. Food and cultural booths remained busy as visitors explored Korean flavours, traditions, and customs in a relaxed festival setting. This year’s event carried additional significance through its close collaboration with Durban-based Hallyu communities, many of whose members participated directly in the planning and operation of the festival. Their involvement helped shape the event into a locally driven cultural exchange rather than simply a visiting showcase, highlighting the growing role of Korean culture within Durban’s youth and community spaces. Travelling Korea is part of the Korean Cultural Centre’s ongoing outreach programme aimed at bringing Korean cultural experiences to regions beyond Pretoria and Johannesburg, allowing wider South African audiences to engage directly with different aspects of Korean culture.                     Korean Cultural Centre in South Africa (KCCSA) | 주남아공한국문화원   • Website: https://sa.korean-culture.org/en • YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@kccsa • Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kcc.sa/ • Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kccsa • X: https://twitter.com/KCC_SA

    On 15 May, the Korean Cultural Centre in South Africa (KCCSA) hosted the local round of the 2026 KSI Korean Speaking Contest, bringing together students who shared personal stories and experiences entirely in Korean. Throughout the competition, participants reflected on their journeys of learning the Korean language, spoke about encounters with Korean culture, and shared how Korean has become part of their everyday lives. Each presentation revealed not only language ability, but also the confidence, individuality, and dedication that the contestants had developed through their studies. This year’s competition showcased the growing enthusiasm for Korean language education in South Africa and highlighted the role of language as a bridge connecting people across different cultures and backgrounds. The audience was able to experience a wide range of perspectives and stories, all expressed through Korean. The winners of this year’s local competition were announced as follows: 1st Place – Geralisha Sprout 2nd Place – Itesiwajuayo Hosanna Babalola 3rd Place – Simtandile Sityeb The first-place winner will be recommended as KCCSA’s representative for the final round of the 2026 King Sejong Institute Korean Speaking Contest in Korea. The King Sejong Institute is a Korean government-supported global network dedicated to promoting Korean language education and sharing Korean culture around the world.                      Korean Cultural Centre in South Africa (KCCSA) | 주남아공한국문화원   • Website: https://sa.korean-culture.org/en • YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@kccsa • Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kcc.sa/ • Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kccsa • X: https://twitter.com/KCC_SA

    On 9 and 11 May, the Korean Cultural Centre in South Africa (KCCSA) hosted a special photography workshop with photographer Hyoung-Sik Jin, held in conjunction with his exhibition YOONSEUL. Over two sessions, participants explored the art of photography through discussions on composition, framing, balance, and visual storytelling. Drawing from his own artistic practice, Hyoung-Sik Jin shared insights into capturing atmosphere, light, and fleeting moments that often pass unnoticed in everyday life. The workshop encouraged participants to look beyond technical aspects of photography and consider how emotion, perspective, and observation shape the way an image is experienced. Through practical exercises and creative discussion, attendees developed a deeper understanding of photography as both an artistic and reflective medium. Held alongside the YOONSEUL exhibition, the programme offered audiences a unique opportunity to engage more closely with the ideas and visual language behind the artist’s work while exploring their own creative perspectives through the camera lens.                       Korean Cultural Centre in South Africa (KCCSA) | 주남아공한국문화원   • Website: https://sa.korean-culture.org/en • YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@kccsa • Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kcc.sa/ • Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kccsa • X: https://twitter.com/KCC_SA

    A new photography exhibition opening in Pretoria is inviting South African audiences to see both Korea and their own surroundings through a different lens — one shaped by light, memory, and fleeting moments of connection. Opened on 8 May at the Korean Cultural Centre in South Africa, YOONSEUL: The Beauty That Appears When Two Worlds Meet brings together photographic works captured between Korea and South Africa by photographer Hyoung-Sik Jin, whose travels and artistic practice have taken him across different parts of the world. The title YOONSEUL refers to the shimmering reflection of sunlight or moonlight dancing across the surface of water — a fleeting yet deeply evocative image that becomes a central visual language throughout the exhibition. Rather than presenting landscapes as straightforward documentary images, the exhibition focuses on atmosphere, emotion, and sensory experience. Across the collection, moments of reflected light, passing shadows, shifting water surfaces, and traces of movement transform familiar scenery into something contemplative and quietly intimate. The exhibition places particular emphasis on the unexpected emotional parallels between Korea and South Africa. Though geographically distant and culturally distinct, the two landscapes are connected here through shared experiences of nature, light, stillness, and memory. The result is an exhibition less concerned with geography than with perception — and with the subtle ways different places can speak to one another visually. Speaking during the opening event, Jin explained that many of the photographs emerged from moments where the emotional texture of the two countries unexpectedly overlapped. “Korea and South Africa have very different natural environments and landscapes, but I felt there were surprising points of connection in the emotions and fleeting beauty created by light,” he said. “Through this exhibition, I wanted to share moments where the landscapes of the two countries seem to intersect and resonate with one another.” During the opening event, Jin guided visitors through the exhibition, sharing how moments of light, movement, and landscape encountered across Korea and South Africa gradually came together in the series. The exhibition sparked lively conversations among arts professionals and visitors, particularly around the unexpected emotional connections the works revealed between the two countries. YOONSEUL: The Beauty That Appears When Two Worlds Meet runs at the Korean Cultural Centre in South Africa until 14 August 2026.                       Korean Cultural Centre in South Africa (KCCSA) | 주남아공한국문화원   • Website: https://sa.korean-culture.org/en • YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@kccsa • Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kcc.sa/ • Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kccsa • X: https://twitter.com/KCC_SA