K-Animation: Screening & Discussion with Ahn Jae-huun (Session 1)

Join us at the KCCDC for a special screening of the iconic award-winning 2021 animated film The Shaman Sorceress (무녀도) and an in-person conversation with filmmaker Ahn Jae-huun, director of the celebrated Korean animation studio Meditation with a Pencil, and Korean voice actor Jang Won-young about their work on the film and the vibrant K-Animation industry today!

📅 Session 1

• Date: Thursday, November 13, 2025
• Time: 6:30 - 9:00 PM
• Location: Korean Cultural Center Washington, D.C.
• Program: Film Screening (86 min) + Discussion (60 min)

✨NOTE: This registration page is for Thursday, Nov. 13 only! A separate Session 2 event will be held on Friday, November 14 at 2:30 PM at American University. Tickets are not transferable between the two sessions. Please double-check the date, time, and location before registering:

• Session 1, Nov. 13: KCCDC, 6:30 PM (this event)
• Session 2, Nov. 14: American University, 2:30 PM

🎬About the Film

A mute girl and her father leave behind a strange painting with a story to tell from a bygone era... Mohwa has practiced shamanism, the indigenous spiritual beliefs of traditional Korea, for her entire life. The return of her son Wook-Yi as a converted Christian with a new view of the world sparks a conflict that drives the family to tragedy, in this important tale of generational and cultural change. Inspired by A Shaman’s Tale (1936) and the novel The Shaman Sorceress (1978), both by Kim Dong-ri (1913.11.24 – 1995.06.17).

Directed by Ahn Jae-huun, The Shaman Sorceress (2021) is the winner of the Contrechamp Jury Distinction award at the 44th Annecy International Animation Film Festival and was inspired by Korean author Kim Dongri’s 1936 short story A Shaman’s Tale (무녀도 or Munyeodo in Korean) and Kim’s later expansion of the story into his 1978 novel (을화 or Eulhwa in Korean), which was nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1982. Like many of his 20th century contemporaries, Kim was deeply affected and influenced by the 1910-1945 period of colonial rule in Korea and the role of traditional culture in a rapidly changing and modernizing nation. Many of Ahn’s films thus vividly reflect this evocative and transformative period in history while capturing an indescribable emotional essence of Korean culture.