Shuhua Sheds Her K-Pop Label as Debut Film Heads to Busan

Shuhua is returning to South Korea in a new role: not as a K-pop idol, but as a film actor. Her debut starring movie, “Happiness and Joyful Days,” has been selected for the Asian Cinema Window section of the 31st Busan International Film Festival, where it will hold its Asian premiere.

Directed by Vivian Yuen, the film stars Shuhua alongside Yang Kuei-mei, Kaiser Chuang, Hsuan Chen and Tsai Fan-hsi. Its selection follows the movie’s earlier inclusion in the Toronto International Film Festival.

The film gives Shuhua a role far removed from her familiar stage identity. She plays Lin Chia-chi, the younger sister of Lin Chia-wen, played by Hsuan Chen. The sisters have sharply different values, life choices and ideas about happiness. Their meetings bring arguments and friction, but their family bond remains unbroken.

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For me, it feels both familiar and unfamiliar.

Shuhua said she never imagined her first film would travel from Toronto to Busan. “For me, it feels both familiar and unfamiliar,” she said, describing the chance to reach different festivals through the character and her performance as “a dream come true.”

Yuen said South Korea holds special meaning for Shuhua and that one of the most rewarding parts of the selection was accompanying her back to a familiar place. Chen also described the trip as meaningful. She visited Busan with her family last year and had hoped to return, but this time she will bring her own film to the festival. The movie is scheduled for release in Taiwan in 2027.

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A dream come true.