The World of Love

A teenager refuses to be defined by her past in Yoon Ga-eun’s funny, vital portrait of adolescence, led by a striking debut from Seo Su-bin.

Lee Joo-in (Seo Su-bin) is a free-spirited teenager whose life revolves around a rotating roster of boyfriends, her social life and taekwondo.

When a classmate circulates a petition opposing the release of a sex offender, Joo-in surprises everyone by refusing to sign. She objects to the idea that sexual violence defines and destroys a survivor’s life. Her stance reveals her own history of abuse, forcing those around her to confront their assumptions about trauma, victimhood and recovery.

Curator’s Note
With extraordinary tonal control, Yoon Ga-eun balances the weight of Joo-in’s experiences with humour, vitality and the unpredictability of teenage life.

Following on from her portraits of young people in The World of Us (2016) and The House of Us (2019), Yoon expands her focus beyond the individual to examine how we perceive and understand one another.

Anchored by Seo Su-bin’s remarkable debut, the film finds complexity in a character who refuses to be defined by a single event. Yoon captures adolescence in all its messiness and contradiction, reminding us that even our most painful experiences cannot tell the whole story of who we are.

The World of Love premiered at the 2025 Toronto International Film Festival and was nominated for Best Film at the 2025 BFI London Film Festival.