A single mother loves dangerously in 1960 Seoul — where coffee houses hide desperate hearts and society never forgives.
This melodrama follows the trials and tribulations of a single mother who dares to love. Hyun Hee (Mun Jeong Suk) makes a living running a coffee house. She has to support her illegitimate daughter and mother, and bear the scorn of those who look down on her. Hyun Hee falls in love with a married writer (Kim Jin Kyu), while another customer (Choi Mu Ryong) holds a torch for her. The romantic triangles that unfold lead to tragic consequences.
Acting
Mun Jeong-suk's devastating restraint as Madonna.
Production
Coffee house as microcosm of postwar Korean class anxiety.
Direction
Gwon Yeong-sun's unflinching gaze at fallen women.
Director
Gwon Yeong-sun
Moon Jeong-suk
Kang Hyeon-hee (Madam Madonna)
Kim Jin-kyu
Lee Sang-hyeon (Newspaper editorial member)
Choi Mu-ryong
Minwoo (poet)
Um Aing-ran
Kwanghee (Madonna Reggie)
Park Am
Hwan-gyu Kim (President of Publisher)
Hwang Jeong-sun
Hyun Hee-mo
Heo Chang-kang
Choi Young-cheol (interpreter)
Do Kum-bong
Gye-young (Hyun-hee's classmate)
Kim Dong-won
Lawyer
Lee Bin-hwa
Soon-jae (Hyun-hee's classmate)
Nam Chun-yeok
Tobacco seller
Mun Hye-ran
Yang Su-jeong (Sang-hyeon's wife)
Seong So-min
Won Se-jong (Sang-hyeon's middle school classmate)
Ok Gyeong-hui
Myungja (Madonna Reggie)
Seo Wol-yeong
The presiding judge
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Released during Korea's rapid postwar modernization, the film channels anxieties about women's economic independence and shifting sexual mores through classic melodrama tropes.
Mun Jeong-suk was nicknamed 'Korea's Joan Crawford' for her ability to suffer magnificently on screen — this role cemented that reputation.
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