Directing
Byun Young-joo
Born December 20, 1966 · Seoul, South Korea (age 59)
She is a founding member of the women's feminist film collective "Bariteo," which was established in 1989. She worked as a cinematographer on Even Little Grass Has Its Own Name (dir. Kim So-young, 1989), a short film about gender discrimination at work, and My Children (dir. Doe Sung-hee, 1990), a documentary film about childcare in a poor neighborhood. Her first documentary Women Being in Asia (1…
Known For
Ardor · 2002Ardor
★ 5.02002
MovieDramaThriller
In revenge for her husband's infidelity, a young beautiful housewife, Mi-heun, starts an affair with an attractive young doctor, In-gyu. Despite her husband's efforts to regain her love and the disapproval by the conservative little town, Mi-huen gradually finds happiness and satisfaction in the affair and decides to turn her back on her quiet life.
Helpless · 2012Helpless
★ 7.02012
MovieMysteryThriller
A woman suddenly disappears. Her fiance then sets out to find her and, in the process, uncovers layers of dark hidden secrets.
Repatriation · 2004Repatriation
★ 6.42004
MovieDocumentary
In 1992, political prisoners from North Korea settled in the South Korean town where filmmaker Dong-won Kim lived. Sent to South Korea as spies during the war, they spent 30 years in jail. How did they endure the many years of torture? What will become of them now that they have been released? Twelve years in the making, Repatriation is a very personal view of a country divided by an ongoing cold war.
Flying Boys · 2004Flying Boys
★ 6.42004
MovieDrama
Five high school teens on their way to college. But gradually they go through the struggles of life and end up discovering who they are and what it is they truly want in life.
Habitual Sadness · 1997Habitual Sadness
★ 5.01997
MovieDocumentary
The story of the women at the "House of Sharing" continues. Old women who share a common bond lead a peaceful life in the countryside, raising vegetables, chickens and painting pictures. They are no different from the elderly women we see every day. But they are all scarred by pain and sorrow from their collective history of being comfort women during World War 2. They became subject to prejudice in their own homeland after their return to Korea. It is painful for them to watch other peoples' children and grandchildren, and they feel rage when the Japanese government tries to cover up the unspeakable crimes they committed against them. The film asks us to remember what these women sacrificed and the shame and misery they faced even as these individuals pass away often forgotten by their own people.
A Woman Being in Asia · 1993A Woman Being in Asia
1993
MovieDocumentary
This documentary is an "Asian report" on so-called international prostitution. The subject matter of parasitic tourism in Jeju Island in Korea is focused on, and it is said that international prostitution in Asia has a relationship between countries, focusing on Thailand and Japan, and that it is not only a problem between countries biased by the flow of capital, but also in the context of "sexual culture" with long roots. In the second half, the question is what is the alternative and what is the boundary between prostitution and non-prostitution in the current situation that is considered to be like "ghetto" because it is separated from the life of the general public.
My Own Breathing · 2000My Own Breathing
★ 5.52000
MovieDocumentary
"My Own Breathing" is the final documentary of the trilogy, The Murmuring about comfort women during the World War II directed by BYUN Young-joo. This is the completion of her seven years work. BYUN's first and second documentaries spoke of grandmothers' everyday life through the origin of their torment, while My Own Breathing goes back to their past from their everyday life. Deleting any device of narration or music, the camera lets grandmothers talk about themselves. Finally, the film revives their deep voices trampled by harsh history.
The Murmuring · 1995The Murmuring
★ 5.81995
MovieDocumentaryWar
Every Wednesday at noon, women who were kidnapped for sexual purpose by the Japanese army during its imperialism and their supporters demonstrate against Japanese government to request official apology and indemnity for their crimes. This documentary portrays sexually abused old women's suppressed story of overcoming of their shame and forced silence.
Filmography
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