Ten South Korean films will be shown at the 29th Annual Hawaii International Film Festival Oct. 15-18, and you can find synopses of them in this column through Oct. 16.

My personal picks are HIFF's opening-night film "Mother (Won Bin)," which won an award at the Cannes Film Festival earlier this year; "Scandal Makers" (a surprise hit in South Korea); "A Frozen Flower (Cho In Sung and Ju Jin Mo)" and "Antique." Tickets went on sale Oct. 1 for HIFF Ohana members and go on sale Monday for the general public. Call 548-5905 or visit www.hiff.org for more information.

'MOTHER'

Director: Joon-ho Bong

A longtime widow's only son, a shy and quiet 28-year-old man, is arrested in the aftermath of a terrible murder and seems destined for conviction until his mother gets involved, determined to prove her son's innocence.

'SCANDAL MAKERS'

Director: Hyeong-Cheol Kang

Once a teen idol, now a radio host in his 30s, Nam Hyun-soo catapults his show to the top of the ratings when he reads letters from Jung-nam, a very young single mom who longs to meet the father she's never seen. To Hyun-soo's surprise, Jung-nam and her 7-year-old boy, Gi-dong, invade Hyun-soo's home and his radio station, claiming that Hyun-soo is her father.

'HOME FROM HOME'

Director: Sung Hyung Cho

Three women, who left everything behind, including their children, to work in Germany as guest workers, return to South Korea after 30 years but find that just as it was in Germany, they feel like foreigners, severed from their roots even in South Korea.

Jeff Chung is general manager of KBFD TV, which televises Korean dramas with English subtitles in Hawai'i. Reach him for comment at 521-8066 or jeffchung@kbfd.com.

THIS WEEK'S K-DRAMA SYNOPSES

'STYLE'

Episodes 5 and 6

Tonight at 7:45: Myunghee encourages Gija to become editor-in-chief to make Style's 200th issue a success. Chairman Sohn asks Woojin to take over Style, for his late mother's sake. Myunghee is uneasy when she hears her father, Chairman Sohn, visited with Woojin for over an hour. Suhjung is tormented by images of Gija and Woojin's kiss. Tomorrow at 7:45 p.m.: When her roommate's boyfriend moves in, Suhjung feels like a third wheel. Minjoon suggests Suhjung live with him, but she turns him down. Suhjung takes her father's reformed suit to the prime minister and asks her to wear it.

'DARE TO LOVE'

Episodes 35 and 36

Sunday at 6:45 p.m.: Sae-dol and Poong-ran move to her parents' house, but don't like the treatment they're getting. Sul-ran's mom meets with Tae-woo after discovering he's inherited a lot of money. Denny and Bong-sun want to get engaged. Denny's father comes to Korea. Gum-ran's paying dearly for her mistake. Sunday at 7:45 p.m.: Poong-ran is fed up with the way she and Sae-dol are treated at home. Her mother even suspects him of stealing. Bong-sun and Denny try to get her parents' blessing in marriage. Soo-nam gets caught with Yanti by his father-in-law and Chan. Gum-ran is trying to adjust to her new life.

'DREAM'

Episodes 5 and 6

Monday at 7:45 p.m.: After taking in Je-il and Jang-seok, Byung-sam immediately puts Jang-seok through a boot-camp training regimen. Je-il finally arranges a match for Jang-seok, but Jang-seok loses in a decision and then assaults his opponent after the match. Byung-sam gives Jang-seok a scolding, but So-yeaon comes to his defense. Tuesday at 7:45 p.m.: Kang Kyung-tak arranges a match between Maeng Do-pil and Jang-seok and orders Do-pil to end Jang-seok's career. Je-il can't persuade Kang Kyung-tak to cancel the match, so he asks his ex Su-jin to broadcast the fight and So-yeon convinces her father to let Jang-seok fight.

'SWALLOW THE SUN'

Episodes 10 and 11

Wednesday at 7:45 p.m.: After Jung-woo saves the king of Africa from assassins, the king asks Jung-woo to try to save his son in return for giant rough diamonds. President Jang tells Tae-hyuk to marry President Yu's daughter, but Tae-hyuk tells him there's someone else. Thursday at 7:45 p.m.: Jung-woo's friends leave without him and he finds Soo-hyun crying outside of the club. Soo-hyun asks why Jung-woo suffers alone instead of sharing everything with her. He leaves with a group to rescue the king's son.