The Way Home (집으로)

Genre: Drama Cast: Director: Year released: 2002 Run Time: 88 min 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

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 with Koreans, 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 old lady 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) 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)

Pictures http://www.hancinema.net/korean_movie_The_Way_Home.php#pictures

Discussion 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? 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? Grandmother and Grandson What was the personality of the grandmother? What was the personality of the grandson? 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?