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Director Jin Jae-woon at the 78th Prix Italia awards ceremony ⟨Courtesy of Jin Jae-woon⟩

Director Jin Jae-woon’s documentary film The Song of Trees was named the winner of the TV Documentary competition at the 78th Prix Italia, held in L’Aquila, Italy, on October 2 local time. It is the first time a Korean work has taken the main prize in this category.

Founded in 1948, Prix Italia is an international broadcasting award organized by RAI, Italy’s public broadcaster. This year, 83 broadcasting organizations from 52 countries submitted 226 entries. Three titles advanced to the final round in the TV Documentary category; the other two were The Talented Mr F, entered by Germany’s ARD, and November 13, Sonia’s Choice, entered by France Télévisions.

An 88-year-old Korean woman growing a forest in Nicaragua, and the director’s response

The Song of Trees follows the life of an 88-year-old Korean woman who has planted one million trees in Nicaragua, Central America. The subject studied biology and biochemistry in the United States and devoted herself to cancer and infectious disease research before receiving a terminal diagnosis in her mid-sixties. She then bought up a tract of land more than seven times the area of Seoul’s Yeouido district and began cultivating a forest. According to the film, she took on the work with the intention of repaying what she had received from the earth over her lifetime and of giving back oxygen.

The film was produced by KNN and co-produced by Choijak Planning. A television version aired separately as the KNN special documentary Nameless, the Woman Who Plants Trees.

In his acceptance remarks, Jin Jae-woon described the film as one that asks how far people have gone in turning away from the sounds of nature. He said he was most gratified that jurors from around the world had listened to the slow time and the silence the film holds.

Korean broadcasting’s Prix Italia record, and the earlier honors for The Song of Trees

Korean programs had previously taken Prix Italia main prizes in the drama categories. KBS won in drama with TV Literature Hall – Days on the Road in 1997, Sae-ya Sae-ya in 2006, and Snowy Road in 2015. On the documentary side, KBS’s Don’t Cry for Me, Sudan received a Special Jury Prize in 2011.

Before this award, The Song of Trees had won two gold medals and one silver at the 2026 New York Festivals, one of the golds in the feature documentary category. The television version, Nameless, the Woman Who Plants Trees, won the TV Documentary Award at the 53rd Korea Broadcasting Awards and was also selected as a Good Program of the Month.

Sources

• Yonhap News, “Jin Jae-woon’s The Song of Trees Wins Prix Italia Documentary Competition,” 2026.10.03

• Nocut News, “KNN’s The Song of Trees Brings Home the First Korean Broadcasting Trophy in Prix Italia’s 78-Year History,” 2026.10.06

• Gyeongnam Domin Ilbo, “The Song of Trees Takes Main Prize at International Broadcasting Award Prix Italia,” 2026.10.06