A movie made to heal tortured souls of 'comfort women'

In the movie, Jung-min, 14, enjoys time with her father in her hometown before Japanese troops kidnap her and send her to frontline military brothels. / Courtesy of JO Entertainment

Director Cho hopes ‘Spirits’ Homecoming’ will bring peace, not hatred

By Park Si-soo, Kim Da-hee

When director Cho Jung-lae turned the crank on a film about “comfort women” in April 2015, he knew he would encounter bumps and humps poised to derail the controversial project.

As expected, he faced difficulty in funding the film because investors were reluctant to cooperate, citing the sensitive nature of the issue of Japan’s wartime sex slaves. He also found himself a target of threats from pro-Japan activists who were committed to glorifying Japan’s atrocities and war crimes during World War II.

The most troubling issue was the shrunken paycheck ― the shooting was done on a very tight budget, raised by donations from 75,000 people at home and abroad. For that reason, when filming was under way, Cho had to leave his rental house in Seoul and move to a cheaper, smaller one in a remote town.

Director Cho Jung-lae, left, with former comfort woman Lee Oak-sun, center, and actress Choi Ri at the House of Sharing in Gwangju, Gyeonggi Province, on Feb. 27. / Yonhap

It was a tough journey. But whenever the director felt that his drive was losing steam, Cho strengthened his determination with the memory of a picture titled “Burning Ladies” that he came across in 2002 at the House of Sharing, a shelter for former comfort women here. The picture, drawn by former comfort woman Kang Il-chul, depicted a group of hanbok-clad Korean comfort women set on fire alive, with armed Japanese soldiers guarding against them fleeing.

This horrific picture presented Cho with cinematic inspiration and a sense of duty to produce a film about comfort women, which saw the light of day last week under the title “Spirits’ Homecoming.”

The hard-born movie initially had a cold reception from major theater chains because they doubted its marketability. But it hit an unexpected jackpot, attracting more than a million people in five days and consequently landing at the top of the domestic box office.

A picture titled “Burning Ladies,” drawn by former comfort woman Kang Il-chul. This gave director Cho Jung-lae cinematic inspiration to produce the movie. / Courtesy of House of Sharing

Experts say people’s unhappiness with the Korea-Japan agreement signed in December for the “final and irrevocable” settlement of the comfort women issue has played a role in spurring the buying spree for the film’s tickets. This sentiment was reflected in a recent survey of 218 students by a uniform maker, Hyungji, in which 84.9 percent said the Seoul-Tokyo agreement was wrong.

“Making this film was my destiny,” Cho said during an interview with The Korea Times in Samcheong-dong, Seoul, Monday. “It’s good news that tickets are hot sellers. But I can’t smile because this (comfort women) is not an ended issue. It’s an ongoing issue. It would be settled permanently only when Japan expresses a sincere and wholehearted apology to victims and punishes those responsible for the heinous crime, like Germany has stringently cracked down on Nazi sympathizers.”

The following is an excerpt of the interview with Cho.

Q. Did you expect such an enthusiastic response from the public?

A.

No, not at all. I think it’s like a miracle. Looking back on what I have done for the film, including filmmaking and releasing, I feel a miraculous thing happened to me and the film.

Q. Do you think the recent agreement between Korea and Japan on comfort women affects the response?

I think feeling sorry for the victims and self-reflection that they haven’t helped the victims much made them watch the film.

Q. The film was released a few weeks after the agreement on Dec. 28. Did you consider the agreement when you decided the release date?

It took 14 years (from scenario writing to release). We couldn’t afford to calculate the date. In fact, no one expected the movie would open in a theater.

Q. The film had its preview in Japan on Feb. 14. How was the reaction of the viewers?

We held the closed preview for our sponsors there. Most of them were Korean residents in Japan. Unlike my expectation, there was no one walking out of the theater. They seemed to feel many things. I hope the movie opens in Japan in the near future.

Q. Have you received any threats about the film from Japan?

I have received several threats, including text messages. Most recently, a Facebook user who seemed Japanese posted a question about whether the film content has evidence or not. In terms of the comfort women issue, we are still at war. As the issue has not been solved yet, I think such threats will continue.

Q. Have you considered opening the film in other countries?

I have. The distributing agency has received a lot of calls. However, nothing has been decided yet. We have already translated the film into English, German, Chinese and Japanese.

Q. What was your intention when making the film? Was the film made to remember the painful history or to draw action through self-reflection?

I decided to make the film to comfort the victims who died far from home. I want to bring the victims to their home at least in the movie. I don’t want the movie to play the role of boosting hatred and anger. I hope the movie becomes the tool for peace.

Q. While you were covering the issue, did you find any difficulty with the records of comfort women? Are the records well kept?

The records and the collection of testimonies are well preserved. However, it leaves much to be desired that they are hard for the public to access. One of the reasons why I made this film was to let more people know about the issue.

Q. During the 14-year production, you faced a variety of difficulties. What made you sustain the production against all odds?

I have suffered from the hardship of life, being economically distressed. However, the sense of duty that I have to do this job and feeling sorry for the victims sustained me. I never felt the 14 years were long. The victims suffered more than 70 years. Even if it took more than 20 years, I would not give up the film.

Q. People can define you through this film. In other words, this movie can narrow down the scope of themes you can choose for your next work. Don’t you worry about that.

I don’t care. I am not interested in how other people define me. I felt as if this one was my destiny.

Q. When do you think the issue of comfort women will be completely solved.

I don’t think the issue will be ended. Whereas Germany still brings war criminals to justice, we don’t do anything. The criminals have to pay for their crimes and apologize to the victims in person. As the victims say they have not received sincere apologies, the issue is not solved.

Q. Do you have any plan to have more works about comfort women?

If I have a chance, I will. For now, I think I gave the film all that I have got.

Q. What’s your future work plan?

I wrote a scenario about Korean traditional musical in 2011. I love “Seopyeonje” directed by Im Kwon-taek. The scenario is a sort of homage to the film.