St Petersburg University held a film presentation for Russian and Korean students

Professor Sergei Kurbanov, head of the Department of Korean Studies at St Petersburg University, noted that the film shows how regionalism can influence the behaviour of ordinary people in South Korean society. In addition, Professor Kurbanov emphasized the importance of understanding national characteristics in the work of an interpreter.

Following the film presentation a discussion was held, students touched upon the problems of modern society’s development of Russia and the Republic of Korea. Elizaveta Bakonina, a second-year student, studied the novel by the Cho Nam-Joo as a part of her term paper, expressed her opinion on several differences between the film based on the novel and the original book. In particular, according to the student, problems raised by the author are illustrated more clearly and sharply in the novel, rather than in the film. Li Hason, a student of the Hankuk University of Foreign Studies, was an active participant of the discussion from the Korean side.

The "Kim Ji-young: Born 1982" film, directed by Kim Do-young, was released in 2019 and attracted public attention. The film raises pertinent issues of the present: women’s role in the family, motherhood, social activities and employment of the women before and after the birth of a child. But first of all, the film focuses on the ways of accepting the world and yourself in it.

At the end of the discussion, which took place over tea in a friendly atmosphere, Korean and Russian students shared with each other their personal experience of socialization and discussed the experience of their parents. This allowed participants of the discussion to compare growing up patterns and social transformation not only of the two countries, but also of different generations.