Asian Pop-Up Cinema: The Land of Morning Calm 아침바다 갈매기는 - South Korea

S. Korea | Drama | 2024 | 114 minutes

In Korean w/ English Subtitles

Director/Screenwriter: Park Ri-woong

Starring: Yoon Joo-sang, Yang Hee-kyung, Khazsak, Park Jong-hwan

Film Source: Hive Filmworks

INTRO and Q&A with director Park Ri-woong

SYNOPSIS:

To escape his life, a fisherman fakes his disappearance. His boss, a cranky boat captain, reluctantly plays along so that the fisherman’s Vietnamese wife can receive the insurance payout. However, racism rears its ugly head as the investigation progresses. 

Winner of the New Currents Award at the Busan International Film Festival, Park Ri-woong’s follow-up to the acclaimed Girl with a Bulldozer is another angry indictment of the woes plaguing Korean society. At the center of this riveting story of small-town xenophobia is a captivating performance by Yoon Joo-sang as the furious boat captain who surprisingly become the story’s moral compass. 

Park Ri-woong, Director

Born in 1978, Park studied journalism and broadcasting at Korea University and filmdirecting at Korea National University of Arts. He first experienced film production as a production assistant on the feature film GANGSTER HIGH (2006) and made his first shortfilm, FAMILY (2005), at the Hankyoreh Film School. His first feature, THE GIRL ON A BULLDOZER (2021), screened in the Panorama section of the Busan IFF and was released in theaters in 2022. His latest feature film, THE LAND OF MORNING CALM (2024), won the New Currents Award, KB New Currents Audience Award and NETPAC Award at the 29th Busan IFF.

Host or Publisher Asian Pop-Up Cinema