“Lost in Starlight” (2025) by Han Ji-won, School of Film, TV & Multimedia, Chosen to be Netflix’s First Korean-Language Animated Film

“Lost in Starlight” (2025) by director Han Ji-won, an alumna of the Department of Animation, School of Film, TV & Multimedia, became Netflix’s first original animated film produced in South Korea. The film was released worldwide on May 30.

Han Ji-won made her debut by receiving the Star of Indie, the grand prize, at the Seoul Independent Animation Festival with her short film, “Kopi Luwak” (2010). She rose to the forefront of the new wave in Korean animation when she was invited to the Sundance Film Festival and the Palm Springs International Film Festival with her short film, “The Sea on the Day When the Magic Returns” (2023). In “Lost in Starlight,” Han presents a new type of animated film with her original style.

Set in Seoul in 2050, “Lost in Starlight” explores a romance between Nan-young, an aspiring astronaut, and Jay, a character who has put aside his dream of becoming a musician, as they journey together towards love and their dreams.

Throughout the film, Han, who expands her universe through illustrations with her distinctive touch and storytelling that encapsulates contemporary life. She suggests that what we need now are the emotions of love. The layered implication of “being lost” in the title – one representing a physical separation between the lovers, and the other referring to an emotional state – invites the audience to reflect on the nature of love as something that amplifies its presence through absence.

To depict the plot in more detail and greater dynamism, Han Ji-won exchanged opinions with voice cast members Kim Tae-ri and Hong Kyung during scene-by-scene readings and refined the characters’ tones. At the same time, they shot live-action footage to capture the delicate expressions that come from natural, free movements.

The romance between young lovers in “Lost in Starlight,” portrayed with Han’s enchanting style and imagination, is expected to win the hearts of viewers worldwide.