Festival
of Refugees
난민들의 축제
Amid escalating armed conflicts and the climate crisis, the number of refugees keeps growing — yet around the world they meet structural neglect and a loud chorus of hostility.
Through cinema we render their lives, so often treated as invisible, visible.
About KOREFF
KOREFF began in 2015 as an attempt to bring refugee stories into Korean public life through the medium of film. For our 10th edition we mark the 75th anniversary of the 1951 Refugee Convention.
“Not as objects of humanitarian aid, but as people with the right to tell their own story — and the right to be represented.”
This year, with the support of the Displacement Film Fund (DFF) — initiated by UNHCR Goodwill Ambassador Cate Blanchett — a feature directed by a Syrian refugee filmmaker has its Korean premiere. Alongside it, a Myanmar refugee living in Korea presents the premiere of her own film. Two acclaimed European features round out the program.
Hosted by Refugee Rights Network · UNHCR Korea · Operated by APIL
Festival Theme
2026 · 10th Edition
This Year’s Slogan
Festival of Refugees
Refugees, film, and festival — for our 10th edition we revisit the name Korea Refugee Film Festival itself.
Refugees are people who arrive without shadows — bodies present, but never quite given the light or ground to cast one. The sociologist Kim Hyun-Kyung calls those denied hospitality people without shadows.
Film is light poured onto a screen — still images given motion, given story. To project a refugee’s image onto the very wall that excluded them is to turn the wall into a screen, to lend them, at last, a shadow.
Festival begins at the fire (軸). Different bodies (諸) cross over (濟) into a new community and stand shoulder to shoulder (際). This is a Festival — 祝祭 — of refugees.
Poster Design
2026 · 10th Edition
Visual Concept
Fire in the Wilderness, Shadows of Solidarity
A flame of justice kindled by refugees in the wilderness — and the many shadows it casts around them.
Program
- 15:50 – 16:10Intermission
- 17:45 – 18:00Intermission
- 19:40 – 19:50Intermission
- 21:20 –Closing & NetworkingSpecial Event
Visit
KOREFF.
- 01
Venue
Arthouse MOMO
[03760] 52 Ewhayeodae-gil, Seodaemun-gu, Seoul
(Ewha Womans University · ECC B402)View on Google Maps - 02
Access
Subway · Sinchon Station (Gyeongui–Jungang Line, Exits 1 · 2), Ewha Womans Univ. Station (Line 2, Exits 2 · 3)
Parking · Ewha Womans Univ. underground parking, Block D, Elevator 1, Floor B4
Contact
Get in touch
koreff620@gmail.com
General inquiries · Press · Programming
@koreff_official
Festival updates · Behind the scenes
/koreffofficial
Announcements · Photo recap
Press kits and partnership proposals: please include the subject line [KOREFF 2026] so we can route your message quickly.
Archive
2015 – 2023
Eight past editions
Each year’s program, with English metadata for every film. Synopses are presently in Korean — full translation is a work in progress.