Jeju Prayer (2013)

Breathing Underwater

In Jeju Province, located off the southern coast of Korea, are the women of the sea, those who hold breath for life. These women still exist and they still dive the old way, without tanks. They go into the waters of 10- to 20-meter depth to harvest seaweed and shellfish to make a living. They make a living in the same sea, but each haenyeo’s sea of life is different. The community is divided into three tiers- Group A, B and C, based on skills and capabilities. One’s rank is determined by sum or breath. Sum, is pre-determined at birth. Therefore, sum is desired. However, the ocean is harsh. May you desire! But seek what is not yours, the ocean will devour you. Life, for these women of the sea, is about holding one’s breath, and containing and controlling one’s desire. The film is a six year record of the lives of the haenyeos in Udo, an islet in the province of Jeju, known to be the birthplace of haenyeo. It is a close look into the lives that stand on the boundary of life and death.

Vote Young Ones

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April Tragedy

The oral writer of the April 3 Uprising and a Rwandan who came to Korea to study face each other, have a conversation, and then go on a trip hand in hand. The two people, from different generations, nationalities, and occupations, have something in common: they are the daughters of massacre survivors.

The Ghosts of Jeju

Documentary about the struggle of the people of Jeju Island, South Korea. Set in the context of the U.S. presence in Korea after World War II, the film reveals horrible atrocities at the hands of the U.S. Military Government of Korea.

The Last of the Sea Women

On the shores of Jeju Island, a fierce group of South Korean divers fight to save their vanishing culture from looming threats.

Until the Stones Speak

There are five grandmothers, four of whom went to Jeonju Prison due to the Jeju 4.3. All of them were young people around the age of 20 at the time of the incident in 1948. The outline of the incident is formed when hearing the experiences of those who were sent to prison without trial particularly as women. The audience feels indescribable emotions by the fact that they have lived on despite what they had gone through, things that are just too much for a human being to bear.

Legend of the Waterflowers

Hyun Soonjik is the oldest living resident in Jeju Island. A natural diver with good skills, she became a high rank Haenyeo at an early age and has led an astonishing career of diving for eighty-seven years. Though she looks more comfortable when she is under water than when she is at home, she quit diving in October, 2020, and goes to sea every day, missing her old life as a diver. When she does, Chae Jiae who has been disciplined by Hyun, accompanies her and looks after her. Together they head for Deulmoolyeo, a place that only Hyun can find, to see the water flowers that bloom under water.

Gureombi, The Wind is Blowing

The story of the ancient and sacred Gureombi Rock. The story of the people of Gangjeong Village who rise up against the construction of a US/Korea Naval base on their holy and precious land. The winds of peace, like the winds of Jeju Island, are blowing.

Soup and Ideology

Confronting half of her mother’s life—her mother who had survived the Jeju April 3 Incident—the director tries to scoop out disappearing memories. A tale of family, which carries on from Dear Pyongyang, carving out the cruelty of history, and questioning the precarious existence of the nation-state.

Haewon

According to a survey by the U.S. military government in 1946, 78% of the South Korean people wanted socialism and only 14% capitalism. By appointing the pro-Japanese collaborators and the rightists, Rhee Syngman, who had not received the people's support, massacred those groups and civilians that were political stumbling blocks. In dealing with the Jeju 4.3 uprising in 1947 and the Yeosun incident in 1948 and The Korean War having broken out, massive civilian massacre became regularized.

The Red Filter is Withdrawn.

If you look into the entrance of one of the huge caves on the Korean island of Jeju, it looks like a camera lens. If you walk into the cave, it looks like a screen, a rectangle showing clouds and white light, just like a film. Director Kim Minjung delves into the bloody history of Jeju, where tens of thousands were killed in a massacre in 1948. The camera follows the traces in the landscape, sometimes transformed by a strident, distance-creating red light, accompanied by a commentary by avant-garde filmmaker Hollis Frampton. Film as a means to address history and its taboos.

My Heart Puppy

Min-soo is about to get married when his fiancée suddenly admits that she is allergic to dogs. Now the guy's best friend, the golden retriever Rooney, needs a new family. With the help of his cousin and social media, Min-soo starts looking for a new home for Rooney.

WAVE

Second-generation migrant worker, Soo is released after receiving probation and community service sentence for his use of violence. Along with his friend Pil-sung, he ends up working as brokers for illegal migrant workers. While fulfilling his community service duty, he meets surfers. Soo falls in love with surfing as the surfers Ddong-ggo and Hae-na teach him how to surf.

Sisters on the Road

The sudden death of her mother brings Myung-eun back home to Jeju island. There she meets her estranged sister Myung-ju and Myung-ju's daughter Seung-ah, still living at their old home, and Hyun-ah who has lived with them for over 20 years like a relative. A career woman whose hard exterior masks her illegitimacy and abandonment issues, Myung-eun tells Hyun-ah she wants to start looking for her father after the funeral. Single-minded in her desire to dig up memories of her father and discover why he left, Myung-eun resents that Myung-ju, who like their mother is a carefree fish trader and an unmarried mother of a young daughter, seemingly doesn't care. At first Myung-ju is reluctant to accompany Myung-eun, but after Hyun-ah persuades her, guilt and her sense of duty as an older sibling prevails. And so the two sisters who are dissimilar in character...

Hello Jadoo: The Secret of Jeju Island

'Plum' is dissatisfied with 'Jeon Bok', a Jeju girl who met her mother on a family trip to Jeju Island. Besides, what are those heart-shaped eyes looking at 'Yoonseok'! When Jeon Bok, his best friend, Yun Seok-i, is taken over by Jeon Bok-i, an angry Ja-doo accidentally knocks over the Dolhareubang, and 'Bori', who was sealed with her curse from a long time ago, awakens. The people hit by Bori's Dolhareubang beam turn to stone and harden, and Jadoo and her friends search for a way to restore everyone to their original state... Let's go to Jeju Island! Let's go two! Fantastic adventure of the cheerful hero Jadu! What is the super secret that the fate of Jeju Island is at stake?

Detour

Three friends from college are now on the brink of turning 40. To attend a funeral on Jeju Island, they go on an unexpected trip as a getaway and wind up at a guest house, where water shimmers, wind blows, and pretty women are seductive, inviting the trio back to their 20s.

Night in Paradise

An assassin named Tae-goo is offered a chance to switch sides with his rival Bukseong gang, headed by Chairman Doh. Tae-goo rejects the offer that results in the murder of his sister and niece. In revenge, Tae-goo brutally kills Chairman Doh and his men and flees to Jeju Island where he meets Jae-yeon, a terminally ill woman. Though, the henchman of the Bukseong gang, Executive Ma is mercilessly hunting Tae-goo to take revenge.

The Art of Seduction

A man and woman have great success in all of their dating pursuits. The woman uses her dating rules and fakes a car accident to capture the guy's attention, but she can't get him to succumb to her charm.

Grand Prix

Grand Prix" covers the world of horse racing, centered around the romance between a male horse jockey and a female horse jockey. Seo Joo-Hee (Kim Tae-Hee) is an ambitious equestrian who loses her beloved horse in a racing accident and also injures her arm. Devastated she quits the sport and travels to Jeju Island. On Jeju Island, Seo Joo-Hee meets fellow equestrian Woo-Seok (Yang Dong-Kun), a former winner of the Japan Cup who is also experienced a similar slump as Seo Joo-Hee. With Woo-Seok's help, Seo Joo-Hee becomes inspired to compete for the Grand Prix Chamionship.

Eomung

This is the story of Sook-ja (Moon Hee-kyung), a female diver in the beautiful Jeju Islands who has lived a tough life, and her childish son Yool (Yeon Joon). Young man Yool dreams of becoming a writer. One day he discovers his mother, Sook-ja, has terminal cancer, but she refuses to get treated and continues diving in the water. Yool gives up his dreams as a writer and goes to his brother-in-law to ask for a job just so he can change his mother's mind. One evening, Yool comes home drunk and upset. Sook-ja can't bear the sudden pain and wakes up her drunken son.

The Poet and the Boy

A married poet meets a teenage boy working at a donut shop and helplessly develops feelings for him.

After Love

Kim Sung-Joon (Park Si-Hoo) worked as a pilot, but after becoming in deaf in his right ear he has worked on the ground. He becomes desperate. Kim Sung-Joon then meets Eun-Hong (Yoon Eun-Hye) on a blind date. Even though he doesn't love her, he gets married to Eun-Hong. After their marriage, Sung-Joon treats Eun-Hong with indifference. Suddenly, Eun-Hong dies. Kim Sung-Joon soon learns for the first time about her real heart and her first love. Holding Eun-Hong's urn, he seeks out her first love.

Ppong ddol

Seong-pil, an actor, is traveling through Jeju Island when he sees an ad looking for actors. He follows the ad that leads him to Pong-ddol. The film captures their sincerity without losing the humor. What does film and life mean to you?

Like You Know It All

A South Korean art house film director is first invited to serve on the panel of a film festival, then to guest lecture at a film school.

A Living Being

Old man, Moon-ho, spends his time masturbating because of Alzheimer. Yoon-jeong works as caretaker for Moon-ho. One day, Yoon-jeong finds Moon-ho completely recovered from dementia…

Ieoh Island

A company hopes to open a spa hotel named after Ieodo, a mythical island inhabited by the souls of drowned sailors. During a study trip to the proposed location of the hotel, a journalist disappears under mysterious circumstances. One of the contractors goes to Ieodo's neighboring island, populated by widows of the dead sailors, to unravel the mystery.

Island of Time

A pensive man visits an empty house. A neighbor tells him the house is haunted but he ignores it. Park Jinseong's second feature that takes place in Jeju Island gazes into the pain of life.

Mermaid Unlimited

Yeong-joo, a former synchronized swimming athlete goes to Jeju Island to put together a synchronized swimming team for a performance. She slowly befriends the haenyeo, or female divers, and gradually begins to fit into their way of life.

Time to Be Strong

Three retired K-pop idols take a trip to Jeju Island. After failed careers and missed school trips, they finally have the time to go on a trip on their own. On their first day on the island, things start to go awry.

Canola

A girl who went missing after an accident returns 10 years later and reunites with her grandmother.

Everglow

Everglow begins with the cute struggle of Kyung-hoon (Ji Hyun-woo), who visited Jeju to make a documentary about Jin-ok (Ko Doo-sim), a female diver. Kyunghoon’s work becomes a sincere mission for the souls buried in the deep sea and mountains.

Shine

Ye-sun, a 16-year-old girl who lives in a little town in Jeju Island, recently lost her grandmother. After the death of her grandmother, Ye-sun closes herself from everyone so that she can get used to being alone. Over one lonely and severe winter night, Ye-sun finally picks up her phone to make a call.

My Mother the Mermaid

Na-young works at a post office and is sick and tired of being around her shamefully unyielding mother and her pushover father who's excessively nice. The only thing that she can look forward to is her trip abroad in a few days. But one day, her father leaves home without any notice. Her mother doesn't care what happens to him and doesn't care to look for him. Na-young has no choice but to give up her dream trip abroad and to search for her father instead. Once she arrives at her parents' hometown, Na-young is shocked to meet someone she'd never expect, even in her dreams.

The Chosen: Forbidden Cave

Jin-Myung is a psychiatrist and exorcist. With his assistant, Ji-Kwang, they attempt an exorcism on Geum-Joo. She suffers from a bizarre phenomenon. They then face a powerful existence within Geum-Joo. Extreme horror arises out of her.

Architecture 101

When Seung-min was on his first year at the Academy of Architecture, he met Seo-yeon. She was a musician student, and Seung-min totally fell in love with her. Years have passed, and now he meets Seo-yeon again - she asks him to rebuild her father's old house.

Love Wind Love Song

A Seoul businessman comes to Jeju Island and meets a lonely tour guide.

Hear me

Yu-jeong who works golf practice is in her late twenties. One day, she receive the shocking news that Sang-ho who is only family and one young brother deserted from his regiment...

I Love Only You

Seung-Hye (female), who has her dream to become a good singer, comes to Seoul and becomes acquainted with Mr. Lee, a bandmaster. Mr. Lee gives her a recommendation letter to introduce her to SeonWoo Kang, a composer. At that time, he intends to retire from pop song world owing to his incurable disease. She is helped by him, and he is also attracted by her beautiful voice to let her become a top class singer. Both love each other. He expedites his death owing to overwork, and finally dies at a hospital in the evening when her recital is held.

The Desperate Chase

A desperate hunt by a detective and a scammer who team up to uncover the truth of their own.

Passing Summer

Jeongbong and Seong-hye run a guesthouse on Jeju Island. On one late summer day, Seong-hye’s ex-boyfriend and Jeongbong’s former female colleague visit the guesthouse, and the complicated romances of four individuals starts to unfold.

You Are More Than Beautiful

What is beauty? Truth created from whith lie.

The Cave

Min-hee, who faces many changes after losing her husband. After her husband's sudden death, Min-hee visits Jeju Island, where her husband had always yearned and experiences a whirlwind of emotions. Mok-ha, a single mom living in Jeju Island, becomes a neighbor to Min-hee who comes down from Seoul and causes various emotional changes.

Jiseul

The populace of a South Korean island rebels against police brutality. The protesters are labeled as communists, and the army is dispatched.

Lump of Sugar

The daughter of a poor rancher, Si-eun's only hope is to one day, become a jockey. With her mother passing away at her birth, her favorite horse, Chun-doong, has become not only her friend, but also a soul mate. She is devastated when Chun-doong is sold to another owner, but when they are reunited two years later they have a chance to create a miracle by teaming up in a race.

In Water

A director, a cinematographer, and an actress spend the days leading up to a movie shoot together on-location, waiting for the director to come up with an idea for what the film will be about.