Director attacks idea of 'normal'
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Peace Park and her son Soul
Director Park Moon-chil
By Yun Suh-young
In his documentary debut, Park Moon-chil delivers a poignant story about his Korean-Canadian sister and single-mother, Peace Park.
He spent seven years filming the experience of Peace from when she began preparing for childbirth in 2006 to when his nephew entered kindergarten.
Park shows a deft balance between being observant and sympathetic.
“My Place” is powerful as a social commentary probably because Park doesn’t fall for the temptations to force the issue.
In an interview with The Korea Times, Park explained how the story evolved from a simple family tale to an individual’s struggle against the tyranny of uniformity.
“My sister’s pregnancy was the initial reason why I began filming. So I focused on the pregnancy at first. But as time went by, I became interested in covering the immigration issue. I started wondering why my family moved back to Korea. The two issues met and melted into the film,” said Park.
“I guess I wanted to question what normalcy was. My sister’s decision to raise a child as a single mother was not normal in Korean society. But different forms of family exist and I want those different forms to be equally accepted. I wanted to question what was normal in Korean society as a student, and as a woman.”
The movie begins by showing how family members react to Peace’s pregnancy. Peace, who was living in Canada, believes having a husband is not a requirement for raising her child. Her mother supports her. His father disapproves and worries about her future but later accepts.
Peace gives birth to Soul, becoming a 24-year-old single mother. She first tries to raise the child with her boyfriend. The relationship doesn’t work out, so Peace decides to move to Korea where she can be supported by family members.
This is the point where the film becomes multifaceted. Peace has a difficult time readjusting to Korea, the birth country she was eager to leave when deciding to study in Canada.
Park uses his sister’s individual experience to explore broader issues in immigration and also the social pressure and stigma single-mothers face in this country.
“I did think that single mothers should be respected, but I thought they should have a high wage and a stable social status to be able to raise a child. But my sister was different. She was a student and didn’t have regular income, or a husband. Then I started asking myself, ‘what about couples with low income? Can’t they have children? Can we say who is or is not qualified to have children?”’ Park said.
“My sister at first seemed to have no plan about life but I realized she tried hard to overcome her situation and managed to live strongly and bravely. I learned a lot from her.”
The film recounts the siblings’ childhood spent in Korea and overseas. Peace had always been described by adults as a “unique” child who struggled to adjust to Korea’s highly-hierarchical education system. Park, more conscious about what others thought of him than his sister, managed a smoother school experience.
“There was an incident when Peace didn’t do the class work her teacher told her to do. The teacher made students submit a summary of his lectures every hour, but when Peace didn’t do it, he sent her outside as punishment. But because she was outside, she couldn’t do the summaries for the other lectures. So the teacher kept sending her outside,” said Park.
“But I didn’t have trouble adjusting in Korea because I followed the norms. I did what people told me to do and met up to their expectations. My parents said they were worried more about me at first but it was my sister who had a hard time adjusting.”
In the movie, Park sees a version of himself in Soul. As the narrator he says: “I guess (Soul) will grow up knowing that he’s different. I tried to hide my differences to fit in. I think I wasn’t successful at adjusting but just successful at concealing myself.”
Park said the movie turned out to be as much as a reflection of himself as a story of his sister.
“I feel like having finished my homework through this movie. I had always wanted to look back on my identity through my work,” he said.
“I think movie-making is a process of looking within yourself. I always wondered how my character would come across in my films. But I realized I could never make films that show strong Korean sentiments. I guess I realized that I didn’t really fit in as a Korean.”
Park said he had his own struggles to “fit in.”
“(After graduating from college) the corporate culture I experienced was personally shocking. They drink till they burn out. Also, people don’t like it when you speak your opinion or talk about your achievements. So I started speaking less and more carefully. It was the opposite from the Western culture I experienced,” he said.
“I guess I wanted to tell my story through my sister because her episodes, conflicts were visibly noticeable where as mine were more internal.”
The movie has received positive responses from foreign audiences when it was shown at the Chuseok Film Festival last year, specially organized for foreigners who didn’t have families to visit during the holidays.
“Many sympathized with the story. They were people who were away from their homeland and new to Korean culture. I think they identified with the concerns or conflicts depicted in the film,” Park said.
“I wish the film could contribute to changing prejudice in society. I know that some people could point fingers at me for the film, but I can put up with that if it helps create a better environment. I will continue to make films about people squeezed in between cultures, such as North Korean defectors or immigrants.”
“My Place” opens in theaters Wednesday. Indieplus near Sinsa Station and KT&G Sangsang Madang Theater in Hongdae will provide English subtitles for all screenings. Indie Space near Gwanghwamun Station will offer English subtitles for screenings everyday at 4 p.m. from Wednesday through Saturday.