HALO South Korean Film + In-Person Q&A with Roh Young-wan & Choi Gang-hyun

Event Date: Mar 28, 2026 (7 pm to 9:30 pm)

South Korean film Halo in Chicago with Q&A featuring Roh Young-wan & Choi Gang-hyun plus Bright Star Award presentation.

Asian Pop-Up Cinema presents Halo, a South Korean film featured in the 20th edition of the festival.‍

Special Guests: Director Roh Young-wan and actor Choi Gang-hyun will join us in person for an introduction and post-screening Q&A.

Bright Star Award Presentation
Before the feature presentation, Choi Gang-hyun will receive the Bright Star Award in recognition of his rising impact in Asian cinema.

Looking for things to do in Chicago this weekend? This one-night-only screening offers a chance to experience independent Korean cinema on the big screen and meet the filmmakers in person.‍

Tickets are limited. Reserve your seats now.

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South Korea | Drama | 2025 | 106 minutes

In Korean w/ English Subtitles

Director: Roh Young-wan

Screenwriters: Roh Young-wan, Kim Eun-na

Starring: Choi Gang-hyun, Lee Jae-yong, Kim Han

Film Source: Helicon Studio Co., Ltd.

While dreaming of becoming a filmmaker, Min-joon divides his time between delivering packages and picking up after his dysfunctional family’s mess. When an astrologer advises him to “follow his halo,” Min-joon pushes himself with extra shifts until he reaches a breaking point.

In the age of internet shopping, we demand convenience at all costs without considering the lives of those who deliver it to us. Roh Young-wan’s empathetic but harrowing drama – winner of the Asian Future award at the Tokyo International Film Festival - imagines the life of one such courier. Shot in claustrophobic tight shots, Roh puts viewers as close to reality – and star Choi Gang-hyun’s engrossing performance - as possible.

IMPORTANT TICKET INFORMATION

All ticket sales are final and non-refundable, so please double-check your plans before purchasing.

Programs and schedules are subject to change.

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Doors open 30 minutes before showtime. Come early, grab your seat, and enjoy the experience!

Roh is a filmmaker who has consistently turned his gaze toward the structural contradictions of Korean society and the inner lives of those left behind. Since 2015, he has been deeply involved in projects that confront historical trauma—most notably as head of planning and production on Spirits’ Homecoming and A long way around, both dealing with the unresolved legacy of the Japanese military sexual slavery system. Spirits’ Homecoming remains one of the most successful crowdfunded films in Korean cinema, embodying the power of collective memory and solidarity. Roh later participated in The Singer, an ambitious attempt at North-South Korean co-production. Though the collaboration remained incomplete, the effort itself raised essential questions about the role of art in cultural reconciliation and healing on a divided peninsula. In 2025, Roh made his directorial debut with the feature film Halo, which won the Best Film Award in the Asian Future section at the 38th Tokyo International Film Festival. Guided by the philosophy that “technique should remain simple, while story and emotion must run deep,” he embraces a minimalist, raw realism in both style and spirit. Halo tells the story of a young man burdened by a forgotten family legacy, navigating a broken household and an indifferent society in search of faint light. Through this quiet journey, Roh offers a sharp yet tender lens on how the shadows of history continue to fracture the present.

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