In the snowy seaside town of Sokcho, 25-year-old Soo-Ha works at a guesthouse. She drifts between her mother’s fish stall and her boyfriend until a French artist’s arrival stirs questions about her identity. As winter deepens, Soo-Ha and the artist form an unspoken connection through food and art.
Ratings
Curator score: 5.1/10
IMDb: 6.8/10
Letterboxd: 3.48/5
TMDB: 6.7/10
Director
Koya Kamura
Production
Offshore, Keystone Films, BNP Paribas Pictures
Cast
Bella Kim, Roschdy Zem, Park Mi-hyeon, Ryu Tae-ho, Gong Do-yu, Jung Kyung-soon, Minhee Cho, Ki Hui-hyeon, Funny Choi, Inja Lee, Sungchae Choi, Nathalie Levy, Jacques Bourgaux, Soungboom Son, Jaehyeon Lee, Heungjoo Yang, Elisa Shua Dusapin, Numyee Kim
Where to watch
MUBI
Curator Review
Verdict
A hushed, visually delicate winter drama with strong atmosphere, food-and-body imagery, and a quietly fraught coming-of-age thread. It’s best when it lets silences, textures, and unspoken longing do the work; viewers wanting a more decisive emotional payoff or a less familiar art-house mood may find it too restrained.
Best for
fans of contemplative character studies
viewers who like wintry coastal settings and tactile food imagery
audiences drawn to understated cross-cultural dramas
people who enjoy slow-burn, mood-first romance
Skip if
you want a plot-heavy or emotionally explicit story
you dislike slow pacing and ambiguity
you prefer warm, conventional romance
you’re sensitive to stories centered on appearance pressure and paternalistic dynamics
Overview
Winter in Sokcho is a small, chilly film that survives on texture: salt air, fish-market routines, watercolor blues, and the awkward intimacy of two people who never quite say what they mean. Its strongest asset is mood, with the seaside town feeling lived-in and lonely at once, and the food and art details giving the story a sensual, observant rhythm.
Worth noting
Bella Kim gives Soo-Ha a watchful, wounded presence, and the film is most compelling when it tracks her uncertainty about her body, her work, and the roles other people try to assign her. The French artist’s arrival adds a faintly romantic charge, but the movie is less interested in conventional chemistry than in the way desire, projection, and identity blur together.
Bottom line
At times the restraint can feel a little too careful, and the emotional contours are so soft that some viewers may wish for sharper conflict. Still, as a winter reverie about self-definition and unspoken connection, it has a distinctive, delicate appeal.
Top Letterboxd reviews
Lizzie Han (3.5★) · 430 likes
Bella Kim is the prettiest girl ever, made me so mad every time a character told her she should get plastic surgery
maeatthecinema (3★) · 331 likes
Les hommes français tous des batards au final c'est ça la moral
Roxane (4★) · 309 likes
i want to stay at this cosy pension and walk on the beach and taste all the delicious food
kellian_sh (3.5★) · 167 likes
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