'Bedford Park' Star Moon Choi Charts Her Own Path Between Korea and Hollywood

Korean actress Moon Choi arrived at the Busan International Film Festival this week with a film that may become her American breakthrough — the independent romance Bedford Park. But she's a little nervous about how Korean audiences will react. "I'm definitely nervous thinking about Korean audiences, because I don't know what to expect," she told The Hollywood Reporter.

After winning at Sundance and earning praise in Toronto, Bedford Park finally screened for Korean viewers in Busan this week. But for fans familiar with her roles in Korean dramas like Mistress (2018) or Now, We Are Breaking Up (2021), they'll see a very different Moon Choi.

A Story That Defies the Typical K-Romance

Bedford Park was written and directed by first-time feature filmmaker Stephanie Ahn. Choi plays Audrey, a 36-year-old physical therapist in Brooklyn whose mother's car accident pulls her back to the New Jersey suburb she never emotionally escaped. The other driver is Son Sukku (The Outlaws, D.P.) as Eli — a hot-tempered former wrestler and Korean adoptee raised by a white mother.

When Audrey visits Eli's home to exchange insurance information, their meeting erupts into a heated argument over who is at fault. On her second visit, Audrey suffers a miscarriage on Eli's doorstep. Gradually, a connection forms between two wounded souls.

Choi said she wasn't sure how the story of immigrant struggle would resonate in Busan, guessing that "they'll be a little surprised by the film's R-rated scale." But the underlying emotion should translate across cultures. "At its core, this is a family drama and a love story about two people who, for the first time, feel seen when they meet someone who shares some of the same struggles from their past," she explained.

From Sundance to Sony Pictures Classics

Bedford Park won the Special Jury Award for Best Debut in Sundance's U.S. Dramatic Competition, after which Sony Pictures Classics acquired worldwide distribution rights. Its January 28 world premiere sold out the 1,200-seat Eccles Theatre — one of only four films out of 90 independents to secure a distribution deal.

The producing team includes Son Sukku's production company Stannum, which achieved this result just two years after its founding. Critics have praised the film for "sketching an unvarnished bond between two lonely souls with delicate performances."

A New Role in Busan

Busan is also welcoming Choi in another capacity: she is serving on the main competition jury, led by Zhang Yimou. For Choi, who had only judged short films before, evaluating features alongside filmmakers like Zhang is both an honor and a challenge.

Choi's personal history adds depth to her performance. Born in Seoul, she moved to Japan at age 9, attended a Korean school in Osaka, returned to Seoul, and eventually moved to New Jersey to learn English. Each relocation made her a new version of an outsider. "Growing up, I always felt alienated, even when I went back to Korea," she recalled.

At 11, she landed the lead in a school production of the Korean classic The Story of Shim Cheong, finding unexpected relief in fiction. "I didn't have to be Korean, I didn't have to be Japanese. I just had to play the role," she said.

Bedford Park is Choi's first American independent film, and she hopes it launches a career moving between Korea and the U.S. She recently finished a Korean-language stage production of The Cherry Orchard with Jeon Do-yeon in New York, and plans to continue seeking cross-cultural projects across film, television, and theater.