Mon père, un outsider

Synopsis

How was it that a young Korean of only 17 years of age had to fight in the Korean war in 1950? How was it that he changed sides in 1953 giving up the possibility of returning to his home country, which had become North Korea, and lived as an exile in South Korea for the rest of his life? This is the story of my father.

“Making a film about my father’s life was not an easy thing to imagine. I had practically nothing at my disposal, apart from my memories and a few family photos... I had to invent and imagine, need being the mother of creation. Here I draw the portrait of my father, fundamentally a good, kind person but who was rendered unfit for everyday life by the trauma of war. Our family lived in poverty and my father turned to alcohol, his only refuge. In fact, it killed him at the age of 68. I dearly loved my father in spite of his faults and I pay tribute, 24 years after his passing away, to this man who loved me, even if he did not often show it, as was the custom. This is my father’s story, but not only his, it’s the story of many of those in exile against their will.” Han Kyung-mi