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On April 11, 2025, the Times Now News reported that BLACKPINK's Jisoo and Lee Min-ho starrer Korean film Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint was allegedly snubbed at the 78th Cannes Film Festival.
The 2025 Cannes Film Festival is set to run from May 13 to 24. It unveiled its official lineup on April 10 and displayed a diverse array of international films. However, South Korean entries were notably absent from the nominations.
Some of the films that were allegedly snubbed are:
- The Ugly directed by Yeon Sang-Ho
- The Journey to Gyeongju directed by Kim Mi-Jo
- Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint directed by Kim Byung-Woo
Kim Byung-Woo's film stars big names like Pachinko star Lee Min-Ho, BLACKPINK's Jisoo, NANA, Ahn Hyo-seop, Chae Soo-bin, and Shin Seung-ho.
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The same publication reported that the 2025 Cannes made headlines after it did not screen a single Korean film in any categories, like the Un Certain Regard, Competition, Out of Competition, Midnight Screenings, or Cannes Premiere.
South Korean cinema like Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint gets snubbed 2025 Cannes for the third time in a row
The South Korean film industry has received considerable awards and recognition at Cannes in previous years. For example, Park Chan-wook won Best Director for Decision to Leave in 2022, and Song Kang-ho (best known for his role in Parasite) took home Best Actor for Broker.
These awards represented the global popularity and artistic merit of Korean cinema. This year, no South Korean entered the competition to win the titles for the Palme d'Or. However, two Korean feature films were been selected for non-competitive categories.
This included director Ryoo Seung-wan's crime action film I, the Executioner. This is slated for the Midnight Screenings section. Kim Lyang's documentary Walking in the Movies will be presented in the Cannes Classics segment. The documentary explores the life of Busan International Film Festival's inaugural director, Kim Dong-ho.
It is important to note that the 78th Cannes Film Festival marked the third consecutive year when South Korean films didn't get a nod in any of the festival's major segments.
Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint: From web novel phenomenon to anticipated film adaptation
Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint was first serialized on the platform Munpia in January 2018 and concluded in February 2020. The story centers on Kim Dokja, an ordinary office worker who becomes the sole reader of a web novel titled Three Ways to Survive in a Ruined World.
Reality starts to mirror the novel's events, and Dokja's plot knowledge becomes essential to survive in the altered world. The novel's detailed plot structure and character evolution struck a chord with readers, which resulted in its assembly into numerous volumes and translations across different languages.
The success of ORV led to its conversion to a webtoon, which was illustrated by Sleepy-C, and published on Naver Webtoon in South Korea, and both the Naver and LINE Webtoons platforms for English versions. With the webtoon reaching audiences on multiple platforms, it allows for an even larger readership and helps solidify it further in the webtoon community.
In addition to its success as a webtoon, a live-action film adaptation of ORV is also in the works, with a release scheduled for July 2025. With Kim Byung-woo directing Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint, along with Realize Pictures producing, the movie has gotten a lot of anticipation from fans as there has been a great deal of marketing.
Additionally, Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint features a star-studded cast including Ahn Hyo-seop as Kim Dokja, Lee Min-ho as Yoo Joong-hyuk, and Chae Soo-bin, Shin Seung-ho, Nana, Park Ho-san, Choi Young-joon, and BLACKPINK's Jisoo as part of the ensemble cast.
The production faced scrutiny from fans regarding deviations from the source material, particularly concerning character portrayals and historical accuracy.
Producer Won Dong-yeon addressed these concerns, emphasizing the necessity of certain adaptations for cinematic storytelling. He assured that the core essence of the original work remains intact and that the author was consulted throughout the adaptation process.
“Before making the movie, we showed the entire script to the original author in advance and explained all the adaptations. The author fully understood and accepted them. [...] We hope for the strong support of the original fans. This is the version with Yoo Joonghyuk holding a sword. When adapting an original work into a film, cinematic modifications are always necessary.”
The film, titled Omniscient Reader: The Prophet, is the first installment in a planned five-part series. Later, the movie title was modified to Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint.
Filming concluded in May 2024, and promotional materials have begun to surface, heightening anticipation among fans. The adaptation aims to capture the novel's complex narrative and dynamic characters, bringing the apocalyptic world of ORV to life on the big screen.
