Yoon Ga-eun

Yoon Ga-eun (born February 15, 1982) is a South Korean film director and screenwriter. Her feature-length directorial debut, The World of Us, premiered at the 66th Berlin International Film Festival in 2016, won the Blue Dragon Film Award for Best New Director, and received numerous international accolades. Her third feature film, The World of Love, had its world premiere at the 50th Toronto International Film Festival, marking the first time a South Korean film was selected for the Platform competition. It subsequently won the Roberto Rossellini Jury Award and the People's Choice Award at the 9th Pingyao International Film Festival, where it held its Asian premiere.

Education Yoon graduated from the History Department at Sogang University and pursued her graduate studies at the School of Film, TV and Multimedia within the Korea National University of Arts. Her first major breakthrough came with Guest (2011), a sensitive portrayal of the emotional growing pains experienced by a pubescent girl. The film won the Grand Prix at the 34th Clermont-Ferrand International Short Film Festival in 2012.

Her 2013 short film Sprout chronicles the solo adventure of a young girl left on her own for the first time. Yoon designed the narrative around the protagonist's small discoveries, reflecting her own artistic philosophy that the true value of human endeavor lies in the process of striving rather than guaranteed success. Sprout went on to win the Crystal Bear for Best Short Film in the Generation Kplus section at the 64th Berlin International Film Festival.

Feature films In 2016, Yoon Ga-eun returned to the 66th Berlin International Film Festival with her feature-length directorial debut, The World of Us, which screened in the Generation Kplus section. The film follows Sun (Choi Soo-in), a ten-year-old outcast who tries her utmost to make friends at school, only to be manipulated by a classmate named Bora (Lee Seo-yeon). Along with newcomer Ji-ah, the girls navigate a fragile dynamic of forming friendships, falling apart, and making up as part of the painful process of growing up. Yoon won a Blue Dragon Film Award for Best New Director among other accolades.

Yoon's third feature film, The World of Love, had its world premiere at the 50th Toronto International Film Festival as the first Korean film in the Platform competition. It received the Roberto Rossellini Jury Award and the People’s Choice Award at its Asian premiere during the 9th Pingyao International Film Festival.

Artistry Yoon's body of work centers predominantly on the inner emotional worlds of children and adolescents. She is also recognized for her ability to discover and mentor new talent. Actress Jung Yeon-ju launched her career in Guest (2011), and child actor Kim Su-an was discovered and cast by Yoon in her short Sprout, before earning international recognition as the youngest Korean actor invited to the Cannes Film Festival.

Filmography +Films credits of Yoon Year Title Credited as Notes Film director Screenwriter 2009 The Taste of Salvia Short 2013 Sprout Short Congratulations, Korean Cinema Short as part of omnibus film Tabloid Truth Credited as scripter 2016 The World of Us Directorial debut in feature film 2019 The House of Us 2025 The World of Love

Accolades

International festival Source:

2016 Berlin International Film Festival – Generation (The World of Us) 2016 TIFF Kids International Film Festival – TIFF Kids (The World of Us) 2016 Udine Far East Film Festival – Competition Section – South Korea (The World of Us) 2016 Toronto Korean Film Festival – Opening Night Feature Presentation (The World of Us) 2016 Busan International Film Festival – Korean Cinema Today-Panorama (The World of Us)

Ambassadorship 2023 — Unobstructed Film Ambassadors

Jury member 2022 – Jury member, Sonje Award at 27th Busan International Film Festival

Awards and nominations