A teacher vs. parents, tradition vs. progress — on a tiny Korean island in '69.
A school teacher on a remote island has to convince skeptical parents to allow him to take his class of young children to Seoul to experience modern, urban civilization for the first time.
Direction
Yu Hyun-mok's patient, observational style lets tension simmer.
Acting
Ku Bong-seo's restrained desperation as the determined teacher.
Production
Authentic 1960s island Korea — documentary-like realism.
Director
Yu Hyun-mok
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Made during Park Chung-hee's authoritarian rule, the film subtly critiques state-mandated modernization programs that uprooted rural communities.
Yu Hyun-mok was a leading figure in Korean New Wave realism; this was his deliberate response to the era's rapid industrialization and its human casualties.
KR
