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Indie movie 'Final Semester' wins KIFV film of the year for portrayal of vocational students

Published: 02 Feb. 2026, 14:49 Updated: 02 Feb. 2026, 19:28

PAIK JI-HWAN
[email protected]

A poster for the film ″Final Semester″ (2025) [THE ASSOCIATION OF KOREAN INDEPENDENT FILM & VIDEO]

The Korean independent film “Final Semester” (2025) was named Independent Film of the Year for 2025 by the Association of Korean Independent Film & Video (KIFV), honoring its understated portrayal of vocational high school students navigating mandatory workplace training, the KIFV announced on Monday.

Directed by Lee Ran-hee, the film follows a third-year vocational student through his final semester, spent largely outside the classroom in an off-campus internship. It traces his transition from school to work through routine encounters rather than dramatic conflict, highlighting the realities of youth labor embedded in everyday life.

The association said the film stood out for its clear-eyed depiction of working conditions faced by students during required on-site training.

The film’s impact extended beyond theaters. On Dec. 30, 2025, it was screened at a Megabox theater inside Seoul World Cup Stadium in Mapo District, western Seoul, followed by a roundtable discussion with students, teachers and policymakers.

Minister of Education Cho Kyo-jin attended the event and watched the film with vocational high school students and teachers before joining a discussion on internship programs and conditions for safe learning.

Students shared impressions and questions during the discussion, while teachers spoke about recurring risks in on-site training programs and pointed to the need for institutional reform.

“Final Semester” reached about 1,800 viewers through group screenings starting in the summer of 2025, including showings for school trips, before opening nationwide on Sept. 3, 2025.

The film went on to win four awards at the Busan International Film Festival.

Documentary filmmaker Jung Yoon-suk, meanwhile, was selected as Independent Filmmaker of the Year for 2025 for documenting the riot at the Seoul Western District Court on Jan. 19, 2025.

Documentary director Jung Yoon-suk [THE ASSOCIATION OF KOREAN INDEPENDENT FILM & VIDEO]

The riot occurred after the court approved an arrest warrant for then-President Yoon Suk Yeol, prompting supporters to storm the court complex in protest.

The KIFV said it selected Jung because he remained at the scene “at a moment when documentation was required” and “fulfilled his responsibility as an artist.”

BY PAIK JI-HWAN [[email protected]]