Baek Byung-yeul is a journalist at The Korea Times focused on cultural content, including films and cultural events in South Korea. You can contact him at baekby@koreatimes.co.kr to share your insights.
REVIEW Living next door to Cheong Wa Dae
Director Ahn So-yon, right, speaks with her grandmother while sitting on the lawn of Cheong Wa Dae in Seoul, in a scene from the documentary "The Blue Roof from the Window." Courtesy of Pronounce me, KBS
By Baek Byung-yeul
New documentary follows 50 years of a family's life next to presidential office
For decades, Cheong Wa Dae in central Seoul’s Jongno District stood as an immovable monolith of power, serving as the site of the presidential office and residence since the Republic of Korea government was established in 1948. However, for director Ahn So-yon, it was simply the neighboring building with the blue roof just a stone's throw from her childhood home.
In her documentary "The Blue Roof from the Window," released on Christmas Eve, Ahn turns the camera inward to document the 50-year odyssey of her own family, following three generations living under one roof.
More than just a personal video diary, it asks the public to think about the people living near crucial public landmarks. The documentary shows that while political activity and civic participation is important, they can also make life very difficult for the ordinary citizens who live next door.
Director Ahn So-yon, center, speaks with her grandfather and grandmother in a scene from the documentary "The Blue Roof from the Window." Courtesy of Pronounce me, KBS
Her grandparents moved to the red brick house in a neighborhood located less than a kilometer from Cheong Wa Dae in the late 1970s. During the years of military rule, the neighborhood was filled with security guards, which kept the area very quiet. Because the streets were guarded so strictly to protect the leader, no one dared to cause trouble, and even small crimes never happened. Ironically, as Korea democratized, the family’s peaceful neighborhood became the epicenter for loud protests.
Through the film, Ahn reveals how mundane everyday life continued for her family even through profound political shifts, in one scene showing her grandmother's household ledgers on Oct. 26, 1979, the day of President Park Chung-hee's assassination.
President Moon Jae-in addresses a crowd of citizens gathering near the fountain in front of Cheong Wa Dae in Seoul, May 9, 2022, his final day in office, in a scene from the documentary "The Blue Roof from the Window." Courtesy of Pronounce me, KBS
Ahn also chronicles the arguments that broke out in her family during the 2016 protests, when people demanded the resignation of President Park Geun-hye. While most of the country celebrated this as a great moment for democracy, it was a disaster for her family because the protesters were allowed to go within 100 meters of their home.
The director shares those complex feelings with unflinching honesty. She believes in the constitutional right to protest, but those same protests made it impossible to live in her own home. This problem became even worse during the Yoon Suk Yeol administration. When he promised to move the presidential office to Yongsan, the family felt they had to support the idea because it was the only way to get their quiet life back.
The documentary reaches its emotional climax as the family tours the Cheong Wa Dae grounds for the first time after it is opened to the public. There, they realize the noise did not disappear, but simply moved to a new place.
A campaign banner for President Lee Jae-myung, then the presidential candidate of the Democratic Party of Korea, is displayed in a scene from the documentary "The Blue Roof from the Window," featuring his pledge to relocate the presidential office back to Cheong Wa Dae. Courtesy of Pronounce me, KBS
"The Blue Roof from the Window" arrives at a pivotal moment, as President Lee Jae Myung prepares to return the presidential office to Jongno on Dec. 29. This move effectively ends the Yongsan Era, which was initiated by former President Yoon Suk Yeol when he moved his operations away from the historic site in 2022.
As President Lee prepares to move back to Cheong Wa Dae, the movie ends with the family feeling tired and worried because the president’s return means the return of police fences and noisy loudspeakers for Ahn and her family.