The film 'The World of Love' claimed the grand honor of Best Film at the 35th Buil Film Awards.
The 35th Buil Film Awards ceremony was held on the afternoon of the 7th at Signiel Busan, hosted by actors Kim Nam-gil and Chun Woo-Hee. 'The World of Love' took home two awards, winning Best Film—the top prize—and Best Actress for Seo Soobin.
'The World of Love' depicts the story of Ju-in (played by Seo Soobin), an 18-year-old high school student caught between being an insider and an attention-seeker whose inner thoughts are unreadable, as she begins receiving mysterious notes after refusing to participate in a school-wide signature campaign by herself. Directed by Yoon Ga-eun, who previously helmed 'The House of Us' and 'Our Bodies', it is her third short film and was released on October 22 of last year, gathering 210,000 moviegoers nationwide.
Koo Jung-ah, CEO of Bol Media, the production company behind the film, shared her thoughts on the win, saying, "It was released around this time last year, so receiving an award like this is unexpected but deeply grateful. It has often been called an independent film, small film, or diversity film, but it feels like the award was given simply as a 'movie' this time, which serves as a tremendous encouragement for me as a producer who made the film together with the team."
The Best Director award went to director Na Hong-jin for 'HOPE'. Reflecting on winning the Director award at the Buil Film Awards ceremony 19 years ago, Na added deeper meaning to the honor and shared the glory of the award with the accompanying staff members. 'HOPE' emerged as the biggest winner of the night, securing a total of five trophies, including Best Director, Best Supporting Actor, Best New Actress, Best Cinematography, and Best Art Direction.
For Best Actor and Actress, Yoo Hai-jin of 'The King's Warden' and Seo Soobin of 'The World of Love' were nominated. Yoo Hai-jin was originally scheduled to attend the ceremony, but decided not to attend due to filming schedules and recent controversies surrounding the recently released 'The Assassin(s)'. Lim Eun-jung, CEO of production company Onda Works, who accepted the award on his behalf, said, "Actor Yoo Hai-jin could not be here today due to filming schedules. I sincerely thank the judges of the Buil Film Awards for giving him this award." She added, "I want to thank director Jang Hang-jun, who created 'The King's Warden' together, all the staff members, the actors, and Showbox, which invested in and distributed the film. Above all, I want to send my greatest thanks to the audiences who visited the theaters and loved the movie."
Seo Soobin earned the honor of winning Best Actress with her debut work. Stepping onto the stage, she expressed, "The director and all the staff members showed a lot of consideration and made sacrifices for good acting. Director Yoon Ga-eun told me, 'Ju-in, go ahead and play to your heart's content.' I dare not imagine how much time and care went into creating an environment where a rookie actor could play freely, and I will never forget it." She also added a promise, saying, "I will work hard so that Buil will not regret this choice."
The Best Supporting Actor and Actress awards were presented to Eum Moon-suk for 'HOPE' and Yum Hye-ran for 'No Other Choice'. The Star of the Year awards went to Park Ji-hoon and Jeon Mi-do for 'The King's Warden'.
The rookie awards were given to Cho Yu-hyun for '3670' and Jung Hoyeon for 'HOPE'. The Yoo Hyun-mok Film Arts Award was awarded to the late film critic Im Jae-chul.
Meanwhile, launched in 1958, the Buil Film Awards is the longest-running film awards ceremony in South Korea, marking its 35th installment this year. This year's ceremony selected winners and winning works across a total of 16 categories, including Best Film, acting awards, director awards, and technical categories.
List of Winners at the 2026 Buil Film Awards
▲ Best Film = 'The World of Love'
▲ Best Director = Director Na Hong-jin ('HOPE')
▲ Best Actor = Yoo Hai-jin ('The King's Warden')
▲ Best Actress = Seo Soobin ('The World of Love')
▲ Best Supporting Actor = Eum Moon-suk ('HOPE')
▲ Best Supporting Actress = Yum Hye-ran ('No Other Choice')
▲ Best New Director = Director Kim Yu-min ('The Island of Bayam')
▲ Best New Actor = Cho Yu-hyun ('3670')
▲ Best New Actress = Jung Hoyeon ('HOPE')
▲ Best Screenplay = Byun Sung-hyun, Lee Jin-sung ('Good News')
▲ Best Cinematography = Hong Kyung-pyo ('HOPE')
▲ Best Music = Lee Min-hwi ('Pavane')
▲ Best Art Direction / Technical Award = Lee Hoo-kyung ('HOPE' / Art Direction)
▲ Male Star of the Year = PARK JIHOON ('The King's Warden')
▲ Female Star of the Year = Jeon Mi-do ('The King's Warden')
▲ Yoo Hyun-mok Film Arts Award = Late film critic Im Jae-chul
(Photo courtesy of Buil Film Awards)
Produced by SBS Digital News (Reporter Kim Ji-hye)
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