Documentary features Korean photographer’s journey in Madagascar
Zeong Cho-sin, director of the documentary film “Madagascar Music,” Jan. 16 / Courtesy of Bereket Alemayehu
Film director Zeong Cho-sin’s latest documentary work, “Madagascar Music,” was made in Madagascar, Africa’s largest island country known for its abundance of wildlife and natural beauty.
Before the film's premiere last November, a book was published in Korean in July 2023 with the same title authored by Zeong’s wife, Kim Sun-hee, who was part of the group’s journey to Madagascar during the filming.
“My wife and I went to Madagascar together for the first time and then I filmed the documentary," Zeong told The Korea Times. "She helped me a lot. Then after we got back to Korea, I said to my wife, 'You should write down the story, the whole story about our travel and our making of films and anything about the journey.'"
They shot over 100 hours of film in Madagascar, which was made into the 78-minute documentary.
The film spotlights Shin Mi-sik, a Korean documentary photographer and philanthropist who has built public libraries for children in Africa — three in Madagascar and one in Ethiopia.
It follows Shin on a trip to Africa in 2023, in which he invites Korean musician and composer Jang Tae-hwa and a group of 14 Korean volunteers on a mission to bring music to the children of Madagascar. They bring 50 ukuleles with them and teach children to play the instruments.
A scene from "Madagascar Music" / Courtesy of Choo Yeon-man
Shin's own relationship with Madagascar began 14 years ago, when he was invited by Madagascar Air to take pictures of the country. At that time, he hadn't even heard of Madagascar. Since then he has traveled to Africa 90 times, 20 times to Madagascar alone, and taken thousands of photos there. He has photographed Africa's diverse ethnic people, traditions and cultures, roads, jungles, deserts, fertile lands and the water bodies of the continent as well as seashores and harbors.
Shin Mi-sik poses at a gallery in Seoul, July 5, 2022. Courtesy of Bereket Alemayehu
“The very first time, I had no idea about Africa," Zeong said. "When my friend Shin Mi-sik — we have been friends for 20 years — invited me to Africa to make this documentary film, I didn’t expect to go to Madagascar’s Morondava city which takes 23 hours by bus from the capital city Antananarivo. The roads were very rough. At the first time, I couldn’t believe that. It's impossible to go there at once. And then the country’s natural beauty is so tremendously captivating. It's unbelievable that the baobab trees are almost like a 30-story building. They’re giant."
He spent 17 days in the country for the making of this documentary, during which time he learned a lot about the people's way of life.
"Madagascan people are very warm and kind and look very happy. I felt that they didn't need many material things," he said. "But I think also Korean people in the 1950s or 1960s, at that time, we were very happy people. It's a poor country, however people are happy. I think that the less materialistic society is more content and happier.”
When asked about the significance of a documentary film connecting Korea and Madagascar, Zeong said that it’s an important contribution that makes a positive impact on Korea-Madagascar relations.
“Madagascar Music” premiered last November at the Yongsan CGV. Recently the documentary has attracted interest from international festivals such as the Los Angeles Da Vinci International Film Festival and the Moscow International Children's Film Festival.
Bereket Alemayehu is an Ethiopian photo artist, social activist and writer based in Seoul. He's also co-founder of Hanokers, a refugee-led social initiative, and freelance contributor for Pressenza Press Agency.