// Workers AI · dad joke modeDoes Bechdel Day 2023 pass the test? It's a date.

Bechdel Day
Bechdel Day
Native name	벡델데이 2023
Sponsored by	Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism; Korean Film Council
Date	September 6–7, 2023
Venue	Indie Space, Seoul
Country	South Korea
Currently held by	Directors Guild of Korea (DGK)
	← 2022 · Bechdel Day · 2024 →

Bechdel Day 2023 (Korean: 벡델데이 2023) was held on September 6–7, 2023 (2023-09-06 – 2023-09-07) at the Indie Space (8th Floor, 176 Yanghwa-ro, Mapo-gu, Seoul). It was the fourth edition of Bechdel Day, an annual South Korean awards ceremony and event hosted by the Directors Guild of Korea (DGK) and by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the Korean Film Council. Established in 2020, the event evaluates and honors gender equality in South Korean film and television, utilizing the Bechdel test alongside expanded criteria.^[1]

Program

Bechdel Choice 10 Screening (Film Category)

Dates: September 1 (Fri) – September 3 (Sun)
Venue: Indie Space

Screenings

The Apartment with Two Women
Next Sohee
Dream Palace
Min-young's Report Card
Soulmate
Alienoid
Phantom
Honest Candidate 2

Audience Q&A (GV) — Soulmate GV

September 1 (Fri) | 19:00
Moderator: Lee Hwa-jeong (Bechdel Day 2023 Programmer)
Panel: Director Min Yong-geun, Byun Seung-min (CEO of Climax Studio)

Audience Q&A (GV) — Ghost GV

September 3 (Sun) | 14:00
Moderator: Film Critic Son Hee-jung
Panel: Director Lee Hae-young

Bechdelian Awards & Meeting with Bechdelians

Bechdel Talk 1: Women Defying the Grammar of Genres

A talk program with this year's Bechdelian Series winners, exploring Bechdel Choice 10 selections and stories about female narratives that absorb and twist genre grammar.

Date: September 2 (Sat) | 14:00
Hosts: Actor Bong Tae-gyu, Lee Hwa-jeong (Bechdel Day 2023 Programmer)
Panel: Director Lee Jong-pil, Writer Park Bara, Kim Min-jung (Professor of Creative Writing at Chung-Ang University)

Bechdel Talk 2: Women: Die or Be Bad

A talk program with this year's Bechdelian winners in the film category, discussing women struggling in their own ways and the faces of women of the here and now as recreated by Korean cinema.

Date: September 2 (Sat) | 16:00
Moderators: Film Director Namgung Sun, Lee Hwa-jeong (Bechdel Day 2023 Programmer)
Panelists: Director July Jung (Next Sohee), Director Kim Se-in (The Apartment with Two Women), Lee Jin-hee (CEO of C-Seed Film, Gil Bok-soon)

Winners

Judging

On August 6, 2023, the Directors Guild of Korea (DGK) announced the "Bechdel Choice 10" film selections. Ten films were chosen through preliminary and final screenings out of 120 candidate works that were either theatrically released (with actual runs on at least 10 screens nationwide based on Korean Film Council network standards) or made available to the public between July 2022 and June 2023. The final judging panel for this year's film category consisted of Shin Hye-yeon, CEO of Insight Film (who was recognized as a Bechdelian producer for the film Anchor at Bechdel Day 2022), alongside Cineplay Editor-in-Chief and critic Joo Sung-chul, Seoul Independent Film Festival Executive Director Kim Dong-hyun, and The Seagull director Kim Mi-jo.^[2]

On the same date, the DGK also announced the "Bechdel Choice 10" series selections, evaluating works released between July 2022 and June 2023 through the lenses of gender equality and cultural diversity. A total of 84 works introduced across terrestrial networks, general programming, cable channels, and OTT originals were considered. The final judging panel for the series category included Kim Min-jung, Professor of Creative Writing at Chung-Ang University; Jin Myung-hyun, representative of Movement; and Na Won-jung, a reporter for the JoongAng Ilbo.^[2]

Bechdel Choice 10

Bechdel Choice 10 of the Year^[3]
Film	Series
The Apartment with Two Women Kill Boksoon Next Sohee Dream Palace Min-young's Report Card Soulmate Alienoid Phantom Honest Candidate 2 You and I	Glitch The Glory Lies Hidden in My Garden One Day Off [ko] The Interest of Love Under the Queen's Umbrella My Perfect Stranger Extraordinary Attorney Woo Little Women Queenmaker

Bechdelian

Bechdellian of the Year^[3]
Director — Film	Director — Series
July Jung – Next Sohee	Lee Jong-pil – One Day Off [ko]
Producer — Film	Producer — Series
Park Eun-kyung – Samjin Company English Class	Cho Moon-joo – Little Women
Screenwriter — Film	Screenwriter — Series
Kim Se-in – The Apartment with Two Women	Park Ba-ra – Under the Queen's Umbrella
Actress — Film	Actress — Series
Lee Ha-nee – Phantom	Lim Ji-yeon – The Glory, Lies Hidden in My Garden

References

↑ Park, Ji-yoon (August 31, 2025). [TF프리즘] 양성평등 가치 실현에 주목…벡델데이를 아시나요? [[TF Prism] Focusing on the Realization of Gender Equality Values… Do You Know Bechdel Day?]. The Fact (in Korean). Retrieved August 5, 2026.
1 2 "벡델데이 2023". sites.google.com. Retrieved August 10, 2026.
1 2 Han, Ki-bong (August 30, 2023). 9월 1~7일은 ‘양성평등주간’입니다 [September 1st to 7th is 'Gender Equality Week']. Women Times (in Korean). Archived from the original on December 15, 2025. Retrieved July 27, 2026.

[1] Park, Ji-yoon (August 31, 2025). [TF프리즘] 양성평등 가치 실현에 주목…벡델데이를 아시나요? [[TF Prism] Focusing on the Realization of Gender Equality Values… Do You Know Bechdel Day?]. The Fact (in Korean). Retrieved August 5, 2026.

[:0-2] 1 2 "벡델데이 2023". sites.google.com. Retrieved August 10, 2026.

[Bechdel2023-3] 1 2 Han, Ki-bong (August 30, 2023). 9월 1~7일은 ‘양성평등주간’입니다 [September 1st to 7th is 'Gender Equality Week']. Women Times (in Korean). Archived from the original on December 15, 2025. Retrieved July 27, 2026.

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