Looking back on childhood is often an exercise in nostalgia. Yet YOON Ga-eun never sentimentalizes the experience of being a child. Instead, she portrays children's worlds with honesty and precision, revealing them to be every bit as intense, complex, and emotionally charged as the adult world. 

From her early short films <THE TASTE OF SALVIA>, <GUEST>, and <SPROUT> to her acclaimed features <THE WORLD OF US>, <THE HOUSE OF US>, and <THE WORLD OF LOVE>, the losses and conflicts her young characters endure unfold with the scale of epic drama and the emotional weight of a survival story. ​

This is why the subtitle of this In Focus retrospective is When Our Worlds Grow. Growth is neither smooth nor solitary; it takes shape through encounters, collisions, wounds, and acts of resilience. With a gaze that remains attuned to children’s perspectives, YOON captures these moments of expansion, inviting audiences to reconnect with the child that still lives within them.

At a time when Korean cinema was often dominated by violence and sensational narratives, YOON Ga-eun brought a distinctive and refreshing voice to the screen. As the unrivaled master of children’s cinema, working both with and about children, she has created a body of work unlike any other. We are proud to launch BIKY's In Focus program with a complete retrospective of her films, trusting that her vision will light the way as a cinematic compass for the journeys ahead.