Two girls sell a father's North Korean medal on an app. What could go wrong?
The story follows So-hee, a 14-year-old Zainichi Korean girl. She goes to a Korean school and devotes herself to Korean traditional dance as her school club activities. One day, at an exchange event with a Japanese school, she befriends Mirai, a Japanese girl who shares her love of K-pop. Through this encounter, So-hee gradually begins to connect with the world beyond her own. As their friendship deepens, the two decide to sell unused items from So-hee's home on a flea market app to earn money for their favorite K-pop idols live tickets. One item fetches an unexpectedly high price-a North Korean CD, which is So-hee's father's. Sanju, the father, is the principal of a Korean elementary school. Emboldened by this success, So-hee and Mirai take it a step further, eventually selling even the medal that Sanju had been awarded by his homeland, North Korea.
Acting
Hanna captures teenage desperation and longing with devastating precision.
Direction
Son Myong A navigates Zainichi Korean identity with unflinching tenderness.
Director
Son Myong A
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Zainichi Koreans remain Japan's largest ethnic minority, often invisible in Japanese cinema; this film centers their liminal existence.
The North Korean medal references real Chongryon honors—selling it mirrors how younger Zainichi increasingly distance from pro-North loyalty their elders maintained.
JP
