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SEOUL — Korean American actor Justin Min joined director Kim Jin-yu and co-stars Kim Hye-ok and Park Dae-ho at a press conference in Seoul on Oct. 16 for “Flowing Journey,” a Korean independent film about neighbors who form an unlikely family through music.
The 125-minute film, scheduled to open in South Korean theaters Oct. 28, is Kim Jin-yu’s second feature. It is rated for audiences of all ages in Korea.
A Piano Brings Strangers Together
The story follows Moon Chun-hee, a woman born and raised in the eastern coastal city of Gangneung. After her husband’s death, she moves into an apartment with his car and a piano from the home they built together. When she cannot fit the piano fully inside her new apartment, Min-jun, a stranger living in a neighboring building, offers to keep it in his home.
The piano and a composition left by Chun-hee’s husband become central to the relationship that develops between the two neighbors. Kim Hye-ok plays Chun-hee, while Min portrays Min-jun, a conductor who was adopted by a family in Germany as a child and has returned to Korea to search for his birth mother.
Park Dae-ho plays Seong-chan, an aspiring pianist who takes lessons from Min-jun. Actress Gong Min-jung also appears in the film.
The characters have no remaining biological families, allowing the film to explore friendship across differences in age and gender. Min described it as a story about people connected “by the heart” rather than blood or marriage — a chosen family brought together after experiencing loss.
Min’s Return to a Korean Production
Min, known to American audiences from Netflix’s “The Umbrella Academy” and the 2021 film “After Yang” with Colin Farrell, said he had spent several years looking for a project to make in Korea. He said he immediately fell in love with the screenplay and its balance of melancholy and hope.
Although Min-jun was raised in Germany, Min said the character’s experience resonated with him as a Korean American. The production filmed scenes in chronological order, allowing his real-life relationships with Kim Hye-ok and Park to develop alongside their characters’ relationships.
Min said the experience gave him a sense of “jeong,” a Korean term describing the deep affection and attachment that can grow through shared time and experience. He also said the Korean set felt similar to an American production, though more organized and efficient.
Kim Hye-ok said she chose the film because its screenplay showed how neighbors without blood ties could share the love and closeness of a family.
Musicians and Gangneung Residents Join the Cast
Park, a pianist with the CMK Ensemble who is nearing graduation from Korea National University of Arts, made his acting debut in the film. He said that while concert performances usually require him to focus on the completeness of the music, acting required him to consider what his character was feeling while playing.
The cast also includes several nonprofessional performers. The real Moon Chun-hee, who inspired the lead character, appears in the film, while residents of Kim Jin-yu’s apartment community in Gangneung took part in a neighborhood meeting scene.
Kim said their participation brought warmth to the sequence and reflected the power ordinary people can bring to films about everyday life. The movie also includes captions to improve accessibility for Deaf viewers.
Filming took place along Gangneung’s east coast and in the city’s Jumunjin and Myeongju neighborhoods. Pado produced and presented the film, Jinjin Pictures invested in and distributed it, and the Gangwon Film Commission provided production support.
Festival Recognition at Home and Abroad
“Flowing Journey” premiered in the Vision section of the 30th Busan International Film Festival, held Sept. 17-26, 2025. It received honors from the Directors Guild of Korea and KBS Independent Film and later won the New Choice Award at the 51st Seoul Independent Film Festival.
The film has also been invited to festivals in Moscow, New York and Australia, as well as several events across South Korea. It is scheduled to screen in the Paysage section of the Paris Korean Film Festival and the Cinema Now section of the London Korean Film Festival. Kim plans to attend both festivals and meet audiences.
Min remained in South Korea from Oct. 16-20 to promote the theatrical release and meet local moviegoers.
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