The distance between Seoul and Busan is 428 kilometers, less than four and a half hours by car and two hours and 40 minutes by high speed train KTX. Korea’s largest port city is always bustling with people and their energy even in non-vacation seasons.

Summer vacation time is long gone, but people are milling in Busan. There is only one reason for people to visit Busan in October.

- I came to see the Pusan International Film Festival. It’s the largest film festival in Asia and I’m looking forward to seeing movie star Won Bin on Friday. I was on KTX today and there were really a lot of people coming to Busan for PIFF.
- PIFF presents many artistic and serious films so it’s worth coming here and seeing those films. If I had foreign friends, I’d invite them to PIFF.

Launched in 1996, PIFF has been a fixture of Korea’s second largest city for the past 15 years. If Busan is a vacation destination during summer, then the city becomes a cinema paradise in fall. This year’s Pusan International Film Festival ran for nine days from October 7th through 15th.

The opening ceremony for the 15th PIFF took place at the yacht racing venue in Haeundae Beach with luxury yachts floating in the background and brilliant fireworks decorating the night skies. Touted as the world’s most dynamic and youthful film festival, the grand cinematic celebration welcomed Juliette Binoche, winner of best actress award at this year’s Cannes Film Festival, renowned American actor Willem Dafoe, Japanese actress Aoi Yu, celebrated directors Oliver Stone and Zhang Yimou, and Chinese actress Tang Wei of “Lust, Caution” as its guests.

- I was here with my “Not One Less” in 1999. I felt really good then, and thought that PIFF would become a great festival. A lot of Chinese people know about PIFF, too.
- Hello, everybody! I realized that Korea is not like a foreign country, but a familiar and comfortable place, which is why I like Korea. If I get a chance, I wish to learn Korean.

PIFF programmer Lee Sang-yong realizes how far PIFF has come in its reputation and substance.

It was really difficult to invite guests in the early years. But now we get many calls inquiring about attending the festival, even if their films were not selected for the main program. I realize that people’s awareness about PIFF changed a lot.

Only about 200 guests were invited to the first PIFF in 1999, but this year the festival enjoyed roughly 7,130 guests from Korea and abroad. In the first year 169 films were shown, whereas 306 films were presented 15 years later. Moreover, embassies and film promotion agencies from 15 different countries, including Canada, Australia, and Taiwan, opened receptions to advertise their films. All this illustrates how much PIFF has grown over the years.

PIFF’s growing distinction has attracted cinema lovers from all corners of the world to Busan every autumn. This year more than 180 thousand people, many of them from overseas, came to see a variety of cinematic works. It’s become commonplace to see a number of foreigner tourists at the Busan train station and the airport around this time of the year.

- It’s a very famous film festival. I heard it’s the largest one in Asia. Busan is a fantastic city and Haeundae is great anytime.
- Tickets to popular films sell out so fast. I’m going to see a short film and a documentary. I like the city, because it has so many things to see. So far I’m loving it. I don’t know that many Korean actors, but it’s still an interesting experience.

PIFF is a paradise for film buffs. This year’s event presented 306 films from 67 countries at theaters in Haeundae and Nampo-dong. The fact that some 150 movies among them are not yet released makes the festival all the more appealing to visitors. Let’s find out which films were hot and which events were offered by the festival.

Mega shopping mall Centum City in Haeundae is located along the sparkling Suyeong River and touted as a new landmark of Busan. The mall also houses multiplex theaters where visitors can enjoy many film presentations. A long line of PIFF fans form in front of the outdoor ticket booth. They’ve been here since a day before to snatch tickets to their favorite films.

- I came here with my friends to see the director’s cut of my favorite movie. It’s a total chaos around here. When I call to make reservations, they all say that they’re booked solid. They started selling tickets online, but the tickets to the movies I wanted to see sold out in 9 seconds. So I’ve been waiting here since yesterday.

Some people still leaf through the festival guidebook to pick what they want to see. It’s impossible to see all the movies available at the festival, so it’s best to take some advice from a pro. Here’s PIFF programmer Lee Sang-yong again.

If you like star-studded casts, I suggest the films in the gala presentation category or those directed by famous filmmakers. If you prefer new and experimental films, look into the New Currents or Flash Forward programs. The films in the Korean Cinema Retrospective or Special Programs in Focus category are great for classic movie fans.

Roughly 300 films are classified into eleven programs – most popular Open Cinema, the World Cinema category presenting films from all continents, New Currents which focus on the concerns of moviemakers, A Window on Asian Cinema, Korean Cinema Retrospective, and Korean Cinema Today, among others.

Let’s take a look at this year’s opening film, “Under the Hawthorn Tree.” Sold out in just 18 seconds since the tickets went on sale on the internet, director Zhang Yimou’s poignant film about a couple of lovers during China’s Cultural Revolution has moved countless moviegoers to tears.

- It’s a tragic, but a beautiful story. I cried like a baby. The most memorable scene was when the leading male character wraps bandage around his lover’s foot and realizes that it’s going to be the last time he sees her, and tries to enjoy that moment as long as possible.
- It was so moving. I read the original novel, so I understood the film better and found it more emotional.

Just as attention-grabbing as “Under the Hawthorn Tree” was Korea’s “Late Autumn” invited to the Gala Presentation section. The online advance ticket sales were over in just five seconds for this film.

“Late Autumn” was first released in 1966. This year’s version is the third remake of the late director Lee Man-hee’s masterpiece of the same name, and has created quite a buzz for starring Korean heartthrob Hyun Bin and seductive Chinese actress Tang Wei.

The story begins when a woman who was imprisoned for killing her husband earns a special leave after seven years and gets on a bus bound for Seattle only to meet a Korean man, who borrows bus fare from her and leaves his wristwatch. The film follows their short, yet intense three-day love affair. Here’s the movie’s male star Hyun Bin.

I tried to express myself through my eyes and actions. I wanted to show that we could communicate our feelings even when we spoke different languages. The background is America, but Tang is Chinese and I’m Korean. Although our cultures and languages differ, the feeling of love is the same. I want to think that this movie is a bit different than conventional love stories.

A fateful encounter with a stranger in a strange place. That may be somewhat awkward, yet strangely exhilarating and sorrowful. Tang says she still feels overwhelmed by the film.

“Late Autumn” is the first Korean movie I took part in. This film still makes my heart beat faster. When I think about this character, I feel very sad and heartbroken.

Every year PIFF organizes retrospective presentations of old films and filmmakers. This year’s focus was placed on Korean actress Kim Ji-mi, known for her inescapable allure as a femme fatale. She is Korea’s ultimate cinema queen, living up to her nickname of “Asia’s Elizabeth Taylor.” This is the second time that Korean Cinema Retrospective centered on an actor. The first one was about the late actor Kim Seung-ho whose “The Coachman” won the Silver Bear award at the 1961 Berlin International Film Festival. Here’s PIFF programmer Lee Sang-yong again.

Kim Ji-mi had been a giant in the Korean film industry from the late 1950s to the late 1980s. Although we can’t look at all her works, we carefully chose eight films to highlight her film career and reflect upon the Korean cinema history.

Eight of Kim Ji-mi’s films, including “Kilsodeum” and “The Tiger Moth,” were shown to honor the iconic actress and inform foreign visitors about old Korean films.

(male 1, English) It was really nice and interesting. I’ve seen a few Korean movies lately, but have never seen such old Korean films. I chose this showing to find out more about the Korean cinematic history. It’s important to know where Korean films came from. I didn’t know about actress Kim Ji-mi before, but she was so beautiful that I couldn’t take my eyes off of her.

Film presentations were not the only features at PIFF. Audiences were treated to a variety of artistic activities that doubled the enjoyment of attending a film festival.
A K-pop band led a concert of original soundtracks on the outdoor stage, and the filmmaker and cast of “Acoustic” held interviews with the audience members. Visitors also got a chance to see their favorite movie stars.
The nine-day film festival came to a close last Friday with the multinational collaboration “Carmellia.” The closing presentation did not mean an end, but the beginning of anticipation for next year’s PIFF. Film lovers are already looking forward to the next year’s festival, since a new video center named “Dureraum” is to be completed in next autumn. Now there will be one more reason to visit Busan in October.