– “Because I Hate Korea,” the opening film of this year’s Busan International Film Festival, follows a 20-something woman’s suffering in South Korea and adventure in New Zealand, casting the question of how to live.
Based on Chang Kang-myoung’s best-selling novel of the same name, the film revolves around Gye-na (Ko A-sung), a woman in her late 20s who is not satisfied with her life in her home country despite a stable job in Seoul and devoted partner, Ji-myung (Kim Woo-kyum).
Feeling tired of her office work and the gap with her boyfriend’s affluent family, Gye-na leaves for New Zealand in pursuit of happiness and encounters new friends, including Jae-in (Joo Jong-hyuk).
Director Jang Kun-jae said he was inspired by Chang’s acrimonious novel and decided to dramatize the story to portray sufferings of young people living in the competitive Korean society.
Director Jang Kun-jae of Korean film “Because I Hate Korea” speaks during a press conference after a screening of the opening film of the Busan Inte
rnational Film Festival at the Busan Cinema Center in the southeastern port city on Oct. 4, 2023. (Yonhap)
Director Jang Kun-jae of Korean film “Because I Hate Korea” speaks during a press conference after a screening of the opening film of the Busan International Film Festival at the Busan Cinema Center in the southeastern port city on Oct. 4, 2023. (Yonhap)
“Although I am not a 20-something woman, I also had complaints about Korean society and wanted to raise the question of whether it is right to live like this,” Jang said during a press conference at the Busan Cinema Center.
In the movie, the cross-editing of Gye-na’s life in South Korea and New Zealand portrays her changing emotions under different climates, societies and people around her.
“I arranged the tone differently for New Zealand and Korea,” Jang said. “Soon after shooting winter scenes in Korea, we went to New Zealand to film the summer scenes. As a result, we could capture the contrasting weather and sentiment.”
A scene from director Jang
Kun-jae’s film “Because I Hate Korea,” the opening film of the 28th Busan International Film Festival (BIFF), is seen in this photo provided by BIFF. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)
A scene from director Jang Kun-jae’s film “Because I Hate Korea,” the opening film of the 28th Busan International Film Festival (BIFF), is seen in this photo provided by BIFF. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)
Jang, known for “A Midsummer’s Fantasia” (2014), “Sleepless Night” (2012) and “Eighteen” (2009), said he wanted to share concerns of the young generation with a global audience and provoke thoughts about their own societies.
“I wanted to create a movie that captures the exhaustion felt in Korean society from different perspectives,” Jang said. “I personally wonder if young Koreans are given a fair opportunity to pursue their dreams on a solid foundation and felt the urge to ask these kinds of questions through the story.”
Source: Yonhap News Agency