JUST weeks after the city hosted a festival of Chinese films, an Oxford cinema is celebrating movies from another Asian country - Korea.

Today, the Odeon in George Street begins a Korean Film Festival - the first of its kind held in the UK outside London.

It is the second organised by the Korean Cultural Centre, and the first time the festival has travelled outside London.

The event begins today with a showing of celebrated Korean director Park Chan-wook's I'm a Cyborg, But That's OK. The director, best known for his movie Oldboy will begin the evening with a question and answer session.

Festival coordinator Jason Bechervaife said: "Being outside London, our main aim is to reach more regional areas and show them Korean cinema and a variety of different films.

"Films are also a great way of exposing the culture, so hopefully people will be able to learn a little bit about Korea."

Film buffs will also have an opportunity to see The War of the Flower, tomorrow and King and Clown, on Wednesday.

All screenings are free, with tickets issued on a first come, first served basis 30 minutes before the show starts at 7pm.

Mr Bechervaife said: "King and Clown is quite traditional, while The War of the Flower is a modern, contemporary film. I'm a Cyborg... is entirely different again.

"This is a rare opportunity to see films in Oxford, which you would not normally be able to see anywhere else except at international film festivals."

He added: "One of the main reasons we picked Oxford is because it is so culturally diverse." He said the opportunity to hear from one of Korea's foremost directors was also exciting - and he advised people to show up early.

He said: "He is only in the UK for a week and it is a real opportunity. Oldboy was a really big film and sparked interest in Korean cinema in the UK, so he is really important."

Also appearing will be Dr Chi-Yun Shin, co-editor of New Korean Cinema, who will be talking at the Nissan Lecture Theatre, St Antony's College, Woodstock Road, at 4.30pm tomorrow.