Posted Monday, November 15, 2004; 21:00 HKT
Pusan is known more for its container port than its culture. But for a week every October, it hosts Asia's most important cinematic event—the Pusan International Film Festival. Last month, 166,000 people turned up to see 262 movies, including 40 world premieres. The setting is also a draw: most showings take place just off a picturesque boardwalk facing the sea, and during festival week nearby restaurants turn into around-the-clock salons where fans mingle with stars and deals get cut over rounds of soju. "Seoul is losing its authenticity," says festival director Kim Dong Ho, "while Pusan is still a romantic port city." Being Asia's movie mecca adds to that attraction.

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