Tae Jun-seek

1997

1997 revisits South Korea's tumultuous late 1990s through documents obtained from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) by the civic organization The Center for Freedom of Information and Transparent Society.

Cruel State

In April 2014, the entire nation of South Korea watched on television live as The Sewol capsized off the coast of Jindo. The tragedy left life-long wounds in the hearts of people whose family and friends had been among the 304 passengers killed. The majority of the victims were high school students on a school trip. Their parents were not even given the luxury of grieving, as they had to camp out in front of the Parliament, City Hall and the Presidential House, asking for only one thing - to know the truth about why their children had been left to die. But after more than a year, that truth has yet to be brought to light. This film is a documentation of the year-long struggle and painful soul-searching of people destined to be labelled as 'bereaved families' for the rest of their lives, as they come face to face with the naked face of their cruel country.

Mother

Changshin-dong. People live along a narrow passageway. And there lives an old woman named Lee So-sun which means a small fairy. Ever since the death of her oldest son, Jeon Tae-il, she always lived sympathizing with the pain and sword-like life of her neighbors. Lee So-sun was the mother of all who waited for a 'humane world', standing straight in the world having no fear of anything. Young artists Baek Dae-hyun and Hong Seung-hee express the pain Jeon Tae-il and his mother Lee So-sun had to endure through their performances. What would be the meaning of Lee So-sun's life to these two artists who beautified all her pains in life? This work is about the final message left by the 'mother'.

The War You and I

With the unexpected dismissal of 2045 workers, the strike by Ssangyong employees has received the most public support and attention since the IMF. It was an intense period inside and outside the factory.

Shared Streets

This documentary film focuses on people in Hongdae trying to make ends meet in the hip, young area of Seoul: an owner of a small snack shop, hip-hop musician Jerry K, social activist Mr. Ahn, and a man who runs a small key shop. They discuss their everyday life as well as their hopes and dreams.

Phill Soong Ver 2.0 - The Song on the Road

Yeon Young-seok is a singer, activist and cultural laborer. His music consoles the fatigue of many people who live in the cruel neo-liberalist world and at the same time composes his own tiring life and reality. As he consoles the world, however, Yeon chose music as his strong motive to live his life which regulates his reality. In this contradictory reality which he feels pain and also consoles, he walks into the world and reflects himself on a condition of winning. Let us listen to his music in his studio, in his one bedroom apartment and on the street. And let us picture what the victory that we need for us is, instead of convicting a victory.