Synopsis
With sales exceeding one million copies, the bestseller When I Turned Nine was adapted into a film of the same name. The self-explanatory title alludes to a coming of age drama about a child turning nine. In the tradition of The Way Home and My Teacher, Mr. Kim, it received favourable reviews due to its comic, touching, and happy moments. In life, the number nine (9) is prevalent; the transitions at nineteen (19), twenty-nine (29), and thirty-nine (39) are never smooth and never unfold as planned in tune with ‘nervous nine’ paradigm. A boy and girl facing their first 'nine' entwine their complex lives with quiet sensations and warm laughter. The children already relate to the problematic issues of work, love, friendship and family-based tension: issues, however, that require maturity and age to fully comprehend. Yeo-min’s daily life in reality is neither favourable nor smooth but it hangs together with one episode strung to the next. Still rough around the edges and slightly immature, his innocence and laudable deeds outshine his shortcomings. Woo-lim is the unforgettable failed first love of all boys. Gi-jong is Yeo-min’s gullible friend who believes anything and everything. Kum-bok is unrequitedly in love with Yeo-min but is on the verge of giving up on him. Anyone can relate to or remembers these intimate childhood characters, and that connection can even overwhelm adults with emotions that are locked deep in the heart. These are children living in a fierce world with suffocating adults, but they manage to deliver to the audience teary laughter and belly-aching happiness. (SONG Ji-hwan)