If You Were Me 2
Commissioned by South Korea's National Human Rights Commission, If You Were Me is an innovative omnibus film project to promote tolerance and human rights and shed light on the hardships disadvantaged people face in Korea. After the success of the first anthology, a second series, If You Were Me 2, was released this year. Five notable Korean directors - Park Kyung Hee (A Smile), Ryoo Seung Wan (Crying Fist), Jung Ji Woo, Jang Jin (Guns & Talks), and Kim Dong Won - participated in the second installment, creating shorts on human rights issues of their choosing.
Kim Dong-won
Ryoo Seung-wan
Jang Jin
Jung Ji-woo
Park Kyung-hee
Casts & Crew
Kim Su-hyeon
Ahn Gil-kang
On Ju-wan
Ryu Seung-ryong
Gong Ho-seok
Seo Ju-hee
Shin In-sook
Jeong Eun-hye
Kwon Hyeong-joon
Lee Jeong-heon
Oh Tae-kyung
Lee Jin-sun
Lee Ji-yong
Yim Soon-rye
Also Directed by Kim Dong-won
The Father Moon Ik-hwan had been imprisoned for inaugurating the National Security Law after visiting North Korea. However Korean people’s desire for reunification heated up the whole country and Moon Gyu-hyeon and Lim Su-Gyeong visited North Korea. That means Father Moon’s visit to North Korea triggered Korean people’s desire for reunification. This film represents the Father Moon’s point of view on and people’s movement on reunification through influence of his visit in North Korea in 1989.
The happy lives of Haengdang-dong residents are overturned when their land is slated for redevelopment.
Jongno, Winter is a short film included as one of the ommibus film in If You Were Me 2 (2005). It deals with an incident of a Korean Chinese Kim Won-sup frozen to death on a street of Jongno. He was an illegal immigrant who could not ask for help during a cold winter day with overdue wage over 10,000 USD. He died of exposure on the street. Director Kim Dong-won expands the problem of the illegally immigrated Korean Chinese.
When it was decided that the 88 Olympics would be held in Seoul, the residents of Sanggye-dong were forced from their homes and they struggled against the government to at least guarantee them new residences.
This is a documentary about 6 days of struggle at Myong-dong cathedral, which triggered the struggle of the June 1987. In the night of 10th June the protest group was chased by the police, came into the Myong-dong cathedral by accident. Their conflicts and hope, political situations of the time are seen in the film with various sources and witnesses. This film seeks hope for today while showing critical reinterpretation on the struggle of the June 1987.
North Korean spies return to their homeland.
This documentary is a director Kim Dong-won’s only autobiographical film that was produced as a request from the video festival. The film starts with the director’s son declaring that the film should start with a blank background with a title reading “We will now start Tekken Family” and then the director’s voice asking his son “ Have you ever seen a film start like that?” The whole family sits in front of a game machine playing Tekken and having a joyous time. This image of the family is very much different to the passive and disconnected image of a family portrayed in People in the Forest of Media.....
A documentary sharing the story of five women captured and enslaved by the Japanese military as "comfort women" during World War II.
Unlike “trilogy on torn-down neighborhoods,” (The Sang-kye dong Olympics, Haengdang-dong People, and Another World We Are Making), Standing on the Edge of Death calmly describes how urban poverty was formed, how they live, and why more than 20 of them committed suicide at once in 1990. In this film, the director explains that people who moved from poor countryside formed urban slum, and because they did not have formal education or asset, they worked as day laborers. Residence was one particular problem they faced as they lost their main dwelling area due to redevelopment. They start their day at dawn and work till night. However, these hard-working people do not receive any recognition from the society.
Also Directed by Ryoo Seung-wan
When an old collaborator gets severely injured, a veteran policeman tries to figure out the way to bring to justice the ultimately suspected aggressor, a spoiled young executive, heir to a mega corporation, who believes he is above the law.
Gyung-sun is a washed-up cab driver who has been trying to go straight after years in trouble with the law after being a big-time safecracker. Soo-jin wants to be a famous singer, but lives the life of a trophy girlfriend to her vicious gangster boyfriend. An unlikely situation cause these two different women to meet where they plan a daring solution to both their problems that will escalate and threaten the wrath of many powerful and corrupt people around them.
A series of murders holds the nation in its sway and the longer the police fail to catch the murderer, the more the public begins to panic. Choi, a highly successful investigator whose methods have always held him back from promotion, senses that this case might be his last chance to make something of his career. He and his old mentor Jang agree to arrest the next best suspect as the serial killer – whatever it might cost. Just when it looks as if all the dirty tricks, dark deeds and treacherous secret deals are about to be exposed, all the stakeholders find themselves drawn deeper into the morass of questionable morals and open violation of the law. The search for the murderer begins to unite the four men, even though none are particularly interested in finding the culprit.
Hwa-nyeo and Chung-nyeo, two country girls who have come to Seoul with big dreams. They are thrilled just to see the wondrous Seoul landscape, but a group of thugs, including Shanghai Park, appears before them. Just as they face a terrible fate, a man by the name of Dachimawa Lee appears like a comet. He suavely fights off the thugs and rescues Hwa-nyeo and Chung-nyeo. The two girls become infatuated with his manly image, and Hwa-nyeo and Dachimawa Lee fall in love. Meanwhile, the head of the thugs, the Nameless Man of the East, hears that his underlings have been harshly beaten and decides to make Dachimawa Lee pay. Finally, there is a battle between Dachimawa Lee and the gang of the Nameless Man of the East.
Ryoo Seungwan, Han Jiseung, Kim Taeyong got together to make a 3D omnibus film. It's a 3D vision of terrible realities never far from popular culture today. The stages of its episodes are different with one another. Tragedies and fantasies unfold in the city, the woods, and the future. The 3D technique is used in scenes where the characters have fancies to get over suffering in reality. It's interesting to watch 3D scenes directed by representative directors of Korea, and it's noteworthy in terms of industry that this try displays the possibilities and realities of 3D film in Korea, as well. It's the new vision of KAFA's project, KAFA+
"Die Bad" is an inventive feature made up of four distinct episodes, each with their own style. With their criss-crossing characters and themes, they add up to a fairly comprehensive account of the causes and effects of male aggression, both tribal and individual.
Tae-su, a detective fighting organized crime, returns to his hometown for his high school friend Wang-jae's funeral. There, he meets his old friends Pil-ho, Dong-hwan and Seok-hwan and they reminisce. Suspecting something fishy about Wang-jae's death, Tae-su and Seok-hwan start investigating it, each in his own way. Their investigations lead to a land development project that Pil-ho is directing.
Under Japanese imperialism, Korean national treasure Golden Buddha is stolen. More important to national security, the statue contains vital information concerning Korean freedom fighters and their whereabouts as well as their true identities. The interim Korean government appoints legendary Korean spy Agent Dachimawa Lee to recover the fabled statue and reveal the dark plot behind the theft.
When an illicit arms deal goes bad, North Korean spy Pyo Jong-seong finds himself targeted not just by the South Koreans but also his own bosses.
During the Japanese colonial era, roughly 400 Korean people, who were forced onto Battleship Island (‘Hashima Island’) to mine for coal, attempt to escape.
Also Directed by Jang Jin
The paths of three people intersect at a hospital. A lawyer who mourns the death of his wife, a taxi driver who is taking care of his grandfather that suffers from Alzheimer's, and a girl who is looking for a bone marrow donor to save the life her mother.
Ji Sub is coming back home after unsuccesfull audition. Sudden sound makes him stop his car. When he's looking into his trunk he discovers young woman, Yeon Hee, who doesn't remember anything about herself. Who is that girl and why did she appeared in front of Ji Sub?
Lee Gang-sik sits in jail with a life sentence because of murder. His good behavior the last 15 years earns him the opportunity to be released for one day & visit his family. But how will his son, whom he let down for 15 years, react?
Ji-wook is a cold-blooded detective who would brutally assault and stop at nothing to catch criminals. However, despite her perfectly masculine appearance, Ji-wook struggles with a secret desire to be a woman. At last, Ji-wook decides to transition. However, a gang Ji-wook brutally arrested by force plots revenge against him. While Ji-wook resigns and secretly dreams of transitioning into a woman, people close to her get caught up in a conspiracy and killed. When the one person he must protect, Jang-mi, also falls in danger, Ji-wook faces a crossroads in making his choice.
Good Morning President is an abridged version of the politics and life of three different presidents. The three are: the older President Kim Jung-ho at the end of his term, the young President Cha Ji-wook, a skillful manipulator of foreign policy and with great determination, and a female President Han Kyuong-ja. They are distressed over the choices they have to make between politics and ethics. The affliction of Kim Jung-ho who wins the lottery, the agony of Cha Ji-wook who donates an organ, and the troubles of Han Kyuong-ja who faces the crisis of divorce.
A baseball player learns he has three months to live and drowns his sorrows at a bar, where the female bartender turns out to be a longtime admirer.
An eccentric but faithful mafia, Chi-sung is sent to prison for his part in a gang fight. But when his parents are attacked by a rival mob and his own people take no action, he realizes that a decade of loyalty towards the gang has become futile. Determined to confront his own boss, he finds a way to escape from prison with his fellow inmates. Meanwhile, his friend Joo-joong is given the task to stop Chi-sung, forcing him to choose between the bond of friendship and loyalty towards the gang.
Upon getting out of prison, Deok-Bae meets his old buddy Dal-soo, who owns a restaurant. These two have never succeeded in life, and are constantly in and out of prison. Two others who happen to be in the same boat as Deok-Bae and Dal-Soo are ex-convicts. They have threatened to commit suicide unless traffic and unemployment issues are resolved. They are also unlucky enough to have been spotted at the scene of a crime. While these four are making big plans for their first success, the city becomes wrapped up in a serial murder case. In the meantime, an investigating team of veteran cops is formed in order to solve this case.
Two brothers were separated in childhood at an orphanage, only to find each other as adults 30 years later. But right after their reunion, their birth mother, who suffers from Alzheimer's disease, suddenly disappears. So Sang-yeon (a pastor raised in America) and Ha-yeon (a shaman) team up together and go on a road trip to search for her.
Four cars get into an accident on the night road, and one unidentified woman ends up dead. At the police station, the police find a password-protected flash drive among her belongings. They work with the other drivers plus some delivery guys to crack the password in hopes that it will provide clues to her identity. Instead, they find the answer to the final million-dollar question for aquiz show. Naturally, everyone rushes to compete in the quiz show! They all know the final answer, but they have to get through 29 other questions first.
Also Directed by Jung Ji-woo
LEE Hae-myung is proud to be the most modern boy in Seoul, living in the 1930’s at the height of its early development. With his Japanese friend Shinsuke, he enjoys the high life, seducing modern girls in dance halls and cafes. One day, in a basement dance hall, he discovers CHO Nan-shil, a startlingly beautiful chanteuse who calls herself “Laura,” and is transfixed at first sight. They start to go out together. However, Nan-shil takes Hae-myung’s assets and disappears without a trace, while he believes that she also falls in love with him. Hae-myung’s unstoppable love and dreams for Nan-shil can be ultimately attained.
Set during the 1999 Asian fiscal crisis Ki-Mun has lost his job and feels ashamed at having to act as domestic housekeepr for his career woman wife Bo-ra. Bo-ra feels trapped in a passionless marriage and is having an affair with a former college boyfriend. Min-ki gradually pieces together the evidence of Bo-ra's infidelity, and is devastated by what he finds.
Renowned 70-year-old poet Lee Jeok-yo falls for a 17-year-old girl named Eun-gyo. Upon realizing his love for the teenager, the poet goes through emotional turmoil and self-destruction, while willing to give up his fame as one of the nation’s most respected literary figures. Involved in the love triangle is Lee's student Seo Ji-woo, a novelist in his 30s who also becomes obsessed with the girl.
Tae-san is a man who truly has everything: money, fame, power and two women he loves: his only daughter, Mira, and his fiancée, Yuna, a chart-topping popstar. He wants them to get along, but Mira doesn’t treat kindly her stepmother-to-be.
In 1994, on the first day that Yoo Yeul went on air as the new DJ of the popular radio show ‘Music Album,' a college girl Mi-su meets Hyun-woo who happens to drop by the bakery she works at. Like the music streaming from the radio, their frequencies slowly come in sync; even when they're apart, the show brings them together through ebbs and flows of events arising from both pure coincidence and inevitability, until the bitter reality sets in and drives them apart...
Thirty year-old teacher In-young (KIM Jung-eun) falls in love with her own student, Suk (LEE Tae-sung). What attracted her to the boy was the fact that he resembled her first love in every way, and even shared the same name. But with the sudden return of her long-lost love, and the appearance of a cute high school girl who confesses her love towards the boy Suk, In-young finds herself lost among the two first loves…
Joon-ho, a 11-year-old swimmer who hopes to become an Olympic medalist, has a problem; he always records 4th place at all the swimming contests that he participates in. His mom who is more enthusiastic than himself in winning is frustrated. Hearing a rumor about a competent swim coach that other moms hush about, she stalks one of the moms for his contact and manages to hire him as Joon-ho’s personal coach. His records soon start to improve. But the badass coach who once was the most promising athlete on the national team before he had quit trains Joon-ho the only way he knows how; to use violence.
A woman leads a tiresome life trying to make ends meet, doing housework, and bring up her children. She tries her best to save money but she feels something is missing inside of her. She cannot communicate with her husband who brings his friends home at night to drink; they all seem to be speaking in incomprehensible gibberish
Also Directed by Park Kyung-hee
This debut feature from female Korean director Park Kyung-hee tells the story of a photographer whose life is changed indelibly when she discovers she has a rare disease which causes tunnel vision and possible eventual blindness. Divided into four sections, it depicts the break-up of her relationship with her boyfriend, her problems with her old-fashioned family, her attempts to deal with her disease through her art and, finally, her desire to fly an airplane before she loses her sight entirely.
In order to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the Korean Film Academy, 20 of the academy's former students (who are respected director's today) were invited to shoot an omnibus movie consisting of 20 short films. Overall this work was very well received by the critiques at the 17th Tokyo International Film Festival. Films include Under a Big Tree, Sutda, Twenty Millimeter Thick, Innocence, *?!#@$ Up Shoes, Twenty Questions, The Twenty's Law, To the 21st, Pass Me and Alone Together.