[비즈한국] It’s Chuseok. This time, we get a whopping five-day break from Saturday, September 14th to the 18th. Some families may have already left for domestic or overseas trips, but there are surely those who feel that even if the sky falls, they must hold the ancestral rites and visit the graves. The landscape of family gatherings during Chuseok will vary greatly from household to household. Some families might take out Yut-nori sets or Hwatu cards after the memorial service, others might turn on the TV or head to the cinema, and some might simply part ways for their own schedules after a meal. When I was young, my family usually chose the TV or the cinema, and I remember being quite cautious because it was my job to choose a piece that considered everyone’s tastes. Nowadays, everyone seems to prefer their own phones over the TV or cinema, but I’m still browsing through potential candidates. What should I watch this year?
OTT: ‘Pachinko’ Season 2, still delivering deep resonance and lingering emotions
If you're spending this Chuseok with family in the living room, munching on jeon (pancakes) and rice cakes while watching OTT, my choice is 'Pachinko'. Debuting in the spring of 2022, 'Pachinko' covered the history of a Zainichi Korean family spanning four generations, from the Japanese colonial period to 1989. Season 2 began on August 23rd with one episode released weekly, and the 4th episode will be available on September 13th, right before the holiday.
Season 2 weaves together the stories of young Sunja (Kim Min-ha) surviving in Osaka in 1945, elderly Sunja (Youn Yuh-jung) in 1989, and Sunja’s grandson Solomon (Jin Ha), who is planning a new business. While the previous season showed the process of Sunja, born in Yeongdo, Busan, becoming entangled with Koh Hansu (Lee Min-ho), being betrayed, and then marrying Pastor Isak (Noh Sang-hyun) to come to Japan, this season depicts the hardships of the family as they begin life as evacuees in the countryside due to air raids during the final stages of Japan's defeat in World War II.
Kim Min-ha continues to shine brilliantly as young Sunja. She realistically portrays the complex emotions of a young woman who sent her husband to prison, raised her sons Noa and Mozasu, and then reunited with Noa's biological father, Koh Hansu. The emotional dynamics created by the new characters joining in Season 2 are also worth watching. The role of Kim Chang-ho, who grows close to Sunja's sister-in-law Kyunghee, was a character with deep emotional turbulence in the original novel, and actor Kim Sung-kyu draws attention with his great chemistry with Jung Eun-chae, who plays Kyunghee. Child actor Kim Kang-hoon, who already proved his solid acting skills in 'When the Camellia Blooms' and 'Reborn Rich', plays the role of Noa, the son between Sunja and Hansu, and Japanese actor Jun Kunimura, familiar from 'The Wailing', appears as Kato, a Japanese man who befriends the elderly Sunja, allowing viewers to enjoy performances from actors of various generations.
Although it is content on Apple TV+, which has somewhat lower accessibility, I can't think of a better choice if you're watching with family. Even in an era where words like "nation" or "ethnicity" feel very outdated, Sunja’s words, "Don't forget who you are," still resonate deeply.
Film: Even if the meaning of family changes, the history continues: 'The Eldest Son'
It is certain that the film with the largest audience this Chuseok will be the only tentpole movie, 'Veteran 2'. Then, is there no other movie to watch besides 'Veteran 2'? No, no. There are quite a few meaningful films that are small in scale but deep in significance, perfect for families to watch together. My choice among them is director Oh Jung-min's 'The Eldest Son'. A well-made "indie-buster" that won three awards, including the KBS Independent Film Award, at last year's Busan International Film Festival and was invited to various prestigious domestic and international film festivals, it captures the lives of three generations of a large family running a tofu factory in the Gyeongbuk region.
These days, people rarely have children, and if they do, it's usually just one, so the notions of "eldest son" or "carrying on the family line" have long since faded. However, the setting of the movie is Gyeongbuk, where patriarchal culture is still prevalent. Moreover, the tofu factory that sustains the household was started by the grandparents, so it is a home where the word of the elders still carries weight. However, times are changing. The grandfather's (Woo Sang-jeon) insistence on holding ancestral rites at midnight is broken by the plea of the eldest son and the entreaties of his granddaughter, and the eldest son, Sung-jin (Kang Seung-ho), declares that he will not inherit the tofu factory.
The film captures the three seasons from summer, when the rites are held, to autumn and winter, when they experience unexpected partings, scanning through the stories of three generations and the family's secrets. It doesn't feature an incredibly dramatic plot, but it's surprising how the points of laughter and tears are effective across generations, perhaps due to the unique characteristics of Koreans or accumulated customs. You cannot help but laugh at the scene where the grandmother (Son Sook), who wouldn't turn on the air conditioner in mid-summer to save on electricity, slyly turns it on after the eldest son appears, pretending she didn't realize it was so hot. From the family's response to the father, Tae-geun (Oh Man-seok)—a former law student whose dreams were crushed by demonstrations and who developed a drinking problem—to the mother’s (Ahn Min-young) flatulence, there are points for chuckling and holding back tears scattered throughout.
It is a film that provides the subtle joy of examining the meaning of family—which seems to stay the same yet changes according to circumstances and social trends—through various characters, and reflecting on one's own family in the process. The ensemble acting by actors of various ages, including Woo Sang-jeon, Son Sook, Cha Mi-kyung, Oh Man-seok, Ahn Min-young, Jung Jae-eun, Seo Hyun-chul, Kim Si-eun, and Kang Seung-ho, is also impressive. The 7-minute long-take scene of the grandfather walking in the ending will leave you feeling choked up. Rated 12+, released September 11th.
Who is the writer, Jung Soo-jin?
She has covered and written about film, travel, and popular culture while working for various magazines. She doesn't want to fall behind on trends, but she has become an "old-school person" who, while watching the latest dramas, only predicts obvious clichés for the next scene. She is trying to regain her lost edge while drifting through the vast OTT world, and her current wish is for an integrated OTT subscription plan.