Han Ji-won
Directing
Biography
Han Ji-won (born 1989) is a South Korean animation director, illustrator, and filmmaker known for her emotionally resonant and visually poetic animated works. She studied at the Korean National University of Arts, where her short film Kopi Luwak (2010) won the Grand Prize at the Seoul Independent Animation Film Festival. Han has directed several acclaimed short films and animation projects, including Recipe to My Daughter and The Sea on the Day When the Magic Returns, earning recognition at international festivals. In 2025, she gained wider global attention with her animated feature Lost in Starlight, released on Netflix. Her work is noted for blending intimate human emotions with lyrical, hand-drawn animation, contributing significantly to the global visibility of Korean animation.
Known For
When an astronaut leaves Earth for Mars, the vast infinite space divides star-crossed lovers in this animated romance that crosses the cosmos.
Lost in Starlight
A 26-year-old man’s life is turned upside down when he is diagnosed with terminal stomach cancer. As he struggles with the pain of his treatment and the realization that he never truly lived, he retreats into his imagination, to a magical forest where answers and miracles can be found.
Amanza
In a small Korean town, two 18-year-old girls, Su-yi and Yi-gyeong, fall in love, dreaming of moving to Seoul together after graduation.
The Summer
Life in the countryside is quiet and mundane for bookish Yi-gyeong until an errant ball sends star athlete Su-yi crashing into her life. The connection between the two girls is instantaneous, and simmers until their mutual attraction bubbles up into love.
The Summer
The feature length film is composed of four short animations. In ‘Lucky Me’, a couple in their twenties run towards their dreams despite being emersed in the problems of reality. Another short deals with a couple in their thirties who share their true feelings with each other, while a short named ‘Coffee Luwak’ talks about the growing pains of teenagers. The stories HAN deals with are everyday life stories of ordinary people, that looks at dreams, reality and love as its core themes.
Clearer than You Think
Sejin once had the power to have anything she wanted just by thinking about it. Now she has lost her magic. Hours before her interview to be a tourist interpreter, Sejin heads to the weary sea to save her father.
The Sea on the Day When the Magic Returns
No description available.