At Summer’s Edge, a ‘Theater of the Moon’ Rises on a Wonju Rooftop

When the lights went out on the fifth-floor rooftop of the Korea Tourism Organization in Wonju on the night of Aug. 28, a projector came to life. Its beams cut through a light drizzle and turned an inflatable screen into a cinema under the late-summer sky.

At the 2026 Wonju Rooftop Film Festival, raincoat-clad viewers settled into the first Rooftop Shorts screening, “Strange Phenomena.” Some sat in camping chairs and chatted in circles with friends. A mother watched while gently pushing a stroller back and forth. Another viewer stretched out with their legs on a second chair. The smell of steamed corn sold by the Wonju Merchants Association and a local coexistence market drifted across the audience.

The three-day festival, held from Aug. 27, presented more than 20 independent and art films in the Gangwon Shorts, Rooftop Shorts and Rooftop Features programs. It also held audience discussions with directors about how the films were made and the stories behind them, along with performances by local independent musicians.

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A local film festival made directly by citizens is ultimately about cultivating, by ourselves, the city we want to live in. The preparation is demanding, but it gives us pride.

Young people in Wonju launched the festival in 2017 because the city had no dedicated independent and art-house cinema, forcing them to travel far to watch the films they liked. They chose rooftops as the festival’s defining experience, offering an outdoor setting less affected by streetlights and signboards. The rooftop of the Miro Arts Market, where the first festival was held, also stood in Wonju’s old downtown and was easy to reach.

Now in its 10th year, the festival has operated without financial support from local government, relying on the efforts of its executive committee and help from local groups and merchants. It surpassed 2,000 visitors for the first time this year. Executive committee member Lee Hyo-jung said, “A local film festival made directly by citizens is ultimately about cultivating, by ourselves, the city we want to live in. The preparation is demanding, but it gives us pride.” Jang Yu-jin, who attended for the third time after traveling from Samcheok, said, “I thought, ‘It has found its place now,’ and it seems the festival’s recognition is finally shining.”

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I thought, ‘It has found its place now,’ and it seems the festival’s recognition is finally shining.