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- 'The Final Semester' wins Best Picture at Film Critics Awards, with Park Jung-min wins Best Actor
- by Yonhap / Nov 10, 2025
A scene from the film ‘The Final Semester’[Courtesy of Workshop Spring. Redistribution or database storage prohibited.]The Korean Association of Film Critics has awarded this year’s Best Picture honor to director Lee Ran-hee’s ‘The Final Semester.’The association announced the winners of the 45th Korean Association of Film Critics Awards on the 6th.‘The Final Semester’ tells the story of vocational high school students who go on field training and experience their first taste of working life. It was praised for its calm and empathetic portrayal of the students’ everyday struggles.Director Lee Ran-hee also received the Best Screenplay Award, giving ‘The Final Semester’ two wins in total.The Best Director Award went to Jang Byung-gi for ‘After Summer.’Park Jung-min won Best Actor for his dual performance in ‘The Face’ directed by Yeon Sang-ho, while Jang Seon-i won Best Actress for ‘Hong-i.’The Best Supporting Actor Award went to Park Hee-soon for ‘No Other Choice,’ and the Best Supporting Actress Award to Kim Geum-soon for ‘The Opposition.’The Best New Director Award was given to Park Jun-ho for ‘3670,’ which also won Best New Actor (Jo Yu-hyun), marking two awards for the film. The Best New Actress Award went to Na Ae-jin for ‘Silver Apricot.’The Lifetime Achievement Award went to Choi Ha-won, who debuted with ‘Trees on a Slope’ (1968) and was known for addressing contemporary social issues. His notable work includes ‘The Old Potter’ (1969), based on the novel by Hwang Sun-won. He also served as a professor at the Korean Academy of Film Arts when it was founded in 1984.The Technical Award went to Hong Cho-rong (lighting) for ‘Seagull on the Morning Sea,’ while both Cinematography and Music Awards went to Kim Jung-min-woo for ‘Island: Longing.’The Independent Film Support Awards went to Jung Yi-woong for ‘Seagull on the Morning Sea’ (fiction) and Park Su-nam & Park Ma-ui for ‘The Voice Revived’ (documentary).The FIPRESCI Korea Award (International Federation of Film Critics – Korea Chapter) went to ‘No Other Choice’ in the domestic category and ‘K-Pop: Demon Hunters’ (Netflix) in the international category.The Film Critics’ Top 10 of the Year for their artistic value included ‘Spring Night,’ ‘Island: Longing,’ ‘Seagull on the Morning Sea,’ ‘No Other Choice,’ ‘The Face,’ ‘After Summer,’ ‘The Opposition,’ ‘Hong-i,’ ‘The Final Semester,’ and ‘3670.’The Association stated that this year’s ceremony will not be held, explaining: “Given the industry’s current constraints — such as film-support programs that fail to reflect real conditions — we have chosen to focus on discovering and promoting high-quality works rather than holding a formal event.”By Park Won-hee
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