Director Yoon Ga-eun’s first film in six years — invited to compete at the Toronto International Film Festival

A scene from the film ‘The World of Love’

If you were to photograph every moment in the day of Joo-in (played by Seo Soo-bin), a high school senior, and show each photo to different people, each person would come away with a completely different impression.

Joo-in is a class president who excels in both academics and sports, a high school girl sharing a passionate kiss with her boyfriend in an empty classroom, and a clumsy troublemaker who can’t sit still and leaves the classroom in chaos.

Someone who sees her cleaning the house carefully in place of her drunken mother might think, “What a responsible eldest daughter,” while another might pity her as a neglected child.

Watching her laugh uncontrollably in the school cafeteria, some might find her joy pure and innocent, while others might sense a shadow behind her smile.

Joo-in is the sum of all these things.

Yoon Ga-eun’s ‘The World of Love’ is the director’s first film in six years. It tells the story of Joo-in, a mysterious eighteen-year-old girl who, after refusing to sign a petition that every other student supports, becomes the center of a quiet storm.

Beloved for her previous works ‘The World of Us’ (2016) and ‘The House of Us’ (2019), which delicately portrayed the inner lives of children, Yoon once again presents a nuanced portrait of Joo-in’s history and emotional complexity.

Joo-in has a habit of revealing her true feelings by turning them into jokes — protecting herself by disguising sincerity as humor.

Even the deepest wounds that can’t stay hidden, and the words she swallows for fear of hurting others, are released through mischievous remarks and playful teasing.

She is someone who, despite carrying the pain of childhood and the confusion of late adolescence, instinctively cares for others — warm-hearted and sensitive.

As we watch her, we naturally join the process of guessing what lies at the root of her inner turmoil, while hoping that her present remains peaceful and her future bright.

Newcomer Seo Soo-bin, who plays Joo-in, doesn’t just deliver her lines — she listens, contemplates, and responds as though thinking in real time, drawing viewers into her world with remarkable naturalness.

Joo-in’s mother Tae-seon (played by Jang Hye-jin), who witnesses her daughter’s growth, is also portrayed as a multifaceted person — a kind daycare director who secretly fills her tumbler with liquor and drinks all day. Her furrowed brow and dependence on stomach medicine reveal the weight she carries in life.

Even Joo-in’s younger brother, who performs magic shows for his mother and sister every night and hides bad news to protect his sister, radiates a vivid, fully realized humanity despite his young age.

‘The World of Love' became the first Korean film ever invited to the Platform competition section of the 50th Toronto International Film Festival and went on to win two awards at the 9th Pingyao International Film Festival.

Renowned Chinese director Jia Zhangke commented, “‘The World of Love’ was selected as the best film by both the Pingyao jury and the audience. As one of the first viewers to encounter it at the festival, I confidently recommend it.”

Poster of ‘The World of Love’