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![Hyejung Jeon, executive director of the London East Asia Film Festival, speaks in an interview with Maeil Business Newspaper. [Reporter Han Ju-hyeong]](https://asianainews.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/1772405458_567_When-I-pulled-out-soju-shot-glasses-in-the-UK-696x464.jpg)
Interview with Hyejung Jeon, executive director of the London East Asia Film Festival, on its 10th anniversary: Once treated as minor in 2015, now firmly in the mainstream; promoting Korean culture and contributing to the Korean Wave through films that connect with audiences in just two hours; Han River Ramen and soju experiences are also popular; “A film festival is the ultimate dopamine rush”
At a time when talk of a “crisis of cinema” has itself become cliché, there is someone who is instead expanding the scope of film festivals. That is Hyejung Jeon, executive director of the London East Asia Film Festival (LEAFF), who describes film festivals as “the ultimate dopamine rush.” She says film festivals are evolving into platforms that encompass both culture and industry, and are emerging as an alternative space that can fill the void left by disappearing in‐person encounters. Now in her tenth year planning festivals that move between Korea, the United Kingdom, and the wider Asian region, she shared her thoughts on the future of film.
Jeon launched LEAFF in 2015. Including her early years as a founding member of the Korean Cultural Center, where she planned various cultural events, she has spent more than 20 years in London introducing Asian culture. “I feel proud that I have helped Asian culture, once treated as something minor, rise into the mainstream,” she said, adding, “Officials from Greater London even sent us congratulatory messages for the 10th anniversary, calling the festival one of the city’s proud treasures.”
Riding the wave of explosive interest in Korean pop culture, LEAFF has evolved into something closer to a comprehensive cultural festival. A prime example is its collaboration with Korean companies such as Nongshim and HiteJinro to organize tasting events where audiences can experience Korean foods featured in the films.
Jeon said, “Right after watching a film is when curiosity about Korea peaks, and I wanted people to be able to taste ramen and soju at that very moment,” adding, “I threw myself into it, thinking of myself as head of Korea’s first sales team in the UK.” She continued, “British audiences went crazy when they finally got to drink the soju they had only seen in films and try Han River Ramen. Seeing that reaction, we made soju shot glass merchandise and handed it out, and people flooded social media with proof shots. It shows how understanding a culture leads to consumption, and that in turn grows an industry.”
![Hyejung Jeon, executive director of the London East Asia Film Festival, speaks in an interview with Maeil Business Newspaper. [Reporter Han Ju-hyeong]](http://asianainews.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/1772405458_567_When-I-pulled-out-soju-shot-glasses-in-the-UK.jpg)
She also argued that in an era when face‐to‐face contact is disappearing, film festivals “provide one of the few spaces where people can meet in person and share experiences.” Unlike Netflix, other OTT platforms, or short‐form videos, festivals revive the catharsis that comes from experiencing something “together.” “In the past, when a film ended, we would sit in a café and talk for two hours,” she recalled. “That is the power that film creates. A film festival brings those forgotten feelings back to life.”
Screening formats have also become more sophisticated. LEAFF has worked with major art institutions such as Tate Modern to run programs that show media art in its full version. Instead of just glancing at a piece while passing through a gallery, audiences sit down and watch it to the end. “I thought people needed the experience of engaging with works seriously, rather than being swept along by the crowd and looking for only one or two minutes,” she said. “Both the artists and the audiences responded very positively. In this way, there is far more that a film festival can do than people might think.”
That said, Jeon is not optimistic about the current state of the film world. The number of films screened at the festival has dropped sharply in just a few years, from around 60 to the 40s. With too few new releases, it has become routine to bring back classic films.
However, she stressed that this is “not a crisis of cinema itself, but a crisis of Korean cinema,” and that what is happening is not the “decline” of the film industry but a “structural shift.” “The model of Korean commercial filmmaking—where investors put up money and then attach star directors and actors—has reached its limits,” she explained. “The center of gravity in the film industry is simply moving toward Southeast Asia.”
In fact, film markets in Southeast Asian countries such as Thailand, Vietnam, and Indonesia are growing rapidly.
There are also more cases of Korean creators collaborating locally by using on‐the‐ground infrastructure. Standing in the middle of this shift, she said, “Korea will move beyond being just a content‐producing country and come to play the role of a bridge that connects Asia.”
“Students studying in London, which is famous for its film schools, are joining LEAFF as staff and learning everything hands‐on, from programming and distribution to marketing. They then return to their home countries with this experience and go on to build close partnerships with the Korean film industry.”
She has also rolled up her sleeves to use film to help address issues facing Korean society. A representative example is “Moving,” a mobile movie theater project that began in 2023.
She explained that it was designed as “a traveling film festival that is not tied to any particular city or conventional format, acting as a problem‐solver that scratches where local communities itch.” “In Buan County, North Jeolla Province, which is struggling with population decline, we pitched Mongolian tents on the beach and invited young people under the theme of ‘youth.’ In Haenam County, which has the largest Vietnamese population in Korea, the project can help open a new chapter for a multicultural society.”
Jeon concluded by stressing that for a private film festival that has survived for ten years to keep growing, it needs public attention and support. “There is a limit to what individual passion alone can achieve,” she said. “We need to see film festivals as both a pillar of cultural diplomacy and a public good.”
“Film is the only medium that can, within two hours, present ways for us to coexist and convey another culture in rich and detailed ways. I hope the films, which embody the devotion and hard work of hundreds of people, can be used more widely and in better places.”
This article has been translated by GripLabs Mingo AI.