Film archive, 2026

The Sorry Generation

세대유감

Director KIM Sung-yoon

1Festival entries

★Avg. rating

A messy, uproarious, thoroughly chaotic family comes rushing in. With an Intangible Cultural Heritage inscription review looming, the House of Lord Ongpyeong, Gwangpyeong Kim Clan—a name that’s a tongue-twister in itself— is presided over by Yong-byeong (Jung Jae-young), the 46th-generation head of this distinguished family. When nothing seems to go his way, he visits a shaman and, upon hearing that “the ancestors are furious,” decides to hold a shamanic ritual. Meanwhile, Bong-deok (Lee Yi-kyung), the 47th-generation heir, has failed the civil service exam seven times. Crushed by responsibilities he never wanted and convinced that his ancestors have ruined his life, he decides to exorcise them altogether. The Sorry Generation, the new film from Kim Sung-yoon, whose feature debut Fragment won the CGV Award and Chorokbaem Media Award at the Busan International Film Festival, is a buoyant family comedy that dances through sheer chaos. The comic maxim ‘comedy from a distance, tragedy up close’ might have been coined for this family. The situations are absurd and awkward, yet that is precisely where the laughter springs from. Each family member has a vivid personality, while the spirited comic performances of Jung Jae-young, Lee Yi-kyung, Kim Joo-ryoung, Kim Ah-young, and the rest of the cast provide some of the film’s greatest pleasures.

Stills5

Film details

Director: KIM Sung-yoon
Country/Region: Korea
Year: 2026
Length: 102min
Original language: Korean
Elsewhere: Letterboxd TMDB Douban

Director

KIM Sung-yoon

Kim Sung-yoon graduated from Hongik University with a major in Video and Film Direction. He built his career as a member of the directing departments for numerous independent and commercial films, serving as an assistant director on the feature films The Vanished (2017), Bring Me Home (2019), and Kim Ji Young: Born 1982 (2019). He also directed the short films OPENER (2012), Counting the Stars at Night (2013), and May I Help You? (2015). With his feature debut, Fragment (2026), he won the CGV Award and the Chorokbaem Media Award at the Busan International Film Festival, as well as the New Director Award at the Chicago Asian Pop-Up Cinema. The Sorry Generation is his second feature film.

From Busan International Film Festival 2026, No. 31

Credits

Director: KIM Sung-yoon
Executive producer: Na-ra LEE
Producer: Sang-wook HAN
Co-producer: Hyo-jung SONG, Yun-sik YANG
Cast: Jae-young JUNG, Yi-kyung LEE, Joo-ryoung KIM, Ah-young KIM, Soon-won LEE
Screenplay: KIM Sung-yoon
Cinematography: Ji-hoon LEE
Production design: Sung-hyun KIM
Editing: Hyun-gun AHN
Music: Yong KIM
Production company: Stonev studio

Festival appearances1

Choose a festival entry to see its screenings, articles and audience reviews.

The Sorry GenerationBusan International Film Festival 2026, No. 31Korean Cinema Today: Special Premiere

Festival history1

釜山国际电影节, 2026Korean Cinema Today: Special Premiere, Official selection