The Way Home (집으로 )

Cast:Eul-boon Kim: Grandmother Seung-ho Yu: Sang-woo Hyo-hee Dong: Sang-woo’s Mother

Director: Written and directed by Jeong-hyang Lee

Year released: 2002 Run Time: 88 min

Genre: Drama

The Way Home  The second-highest grossing

local film in South Korea in 2002.

Released on DVD with English subtitles, in 2003 by Paramount.

The film was made in and around Jeetongma, Gyeongbuk Province

The film

The Way Home is  a  heart-warming  story  about  a grandmother and her city-born grandson who comes to live  with  her  in  a  rural  village.  The  film, which  reminds  the  younger  generation  of the unconditional  love and  care  that  old  people selflessly  give,  won  South  Korea's  equivalent  of the Oscars for best picture and screenplay.

In the credit notes at the end, the film is dedicated to all maternal grandmothers around the world.

The Director

Jeong-hyang Lee wanted to make a low-budget film about human relationships and the generation gap between old and young in Korea at present.

 In the 21st century, polarisation is becoming apparent in many aspects of life.

 Family traditions are not being observed as they were before. The nuclear family and the single mother looking for work (as in this film) is becoming more common.

The Director

Jeong-hyang Lee wanted to show that that tradit-ional Korean family values and ‘Jung’ still hold true.

The film was expected to be a failure by the major film companies, since it was low-budget and had no violence, sex or other ‘popular’ themes.

However, it was an immediate hit withKoreans, who saw great cultural and traditional value in its message.

The Grandmother

The grandmother is a maternal grandmother. This has a certain meaning in Korea. She is not of 

the father’s family, and does not deserve so much respect from the son.

Just as he came to love her, so many Koreans came to love this mute oldlady and tried to visit her house.

She became a star and had to move house to escape the publicity.

The Boy (then) Profile Name: Seung-ho Yu Hangul: 유승호 Profession: Actor & Model Birthdate: August 17, 1993 Birthplace: South Korea Height: 175 cm. Star Sign: Leo Blood Type: A

The Boy (now)Movies 71 (2009) Busan (2009) The Clue  (2009) Unforgettable (2008) Hearty Paws (2006) Don't Tell Papa (2003) Happy Erotic Christmas (2003) The Way Home (2002)

Pictureshttp://www.hancinema.net/korean_movie_The_Way_Home.php#pictures

Discussion1. Old Korea and New Korea

• What examples of old Korea did you see in the film?• What examples of new Korea did you see in the film?

2. Countryside and City• What examples of Korean countryside did you see?• What examples of modern city life did you see?• How did you feel when you saw them?

3. Grandmother and Grandson• What was the personality of the grandmother?• What was the personality of the grandson?• How did you feel when you saw them?

4. Customs• What do you know about traditional Korean customs?• Can you tell us some Korean customs?• Tell us about customs in your home country.• Are traditional customs disappearing?