Program Note
Once in a Summer is set against the backdrop of South Korea’s pro-democracy movement and the opposition to President Park Chung-hee’s third-term constitutional amendment in 1969. Seok-yeong (Lee Byung Hun), the privileged son of a wealthy Seoul family, joins a rural volunteer program without much thought, only to meet Jeong-in (Soo Ae), a local librarian. Soon, their summer romance unfolds, but the revelation that Jeong-in’s father defected to North Korea casts a long shadow over their future. In the first half of the film, Lee captures the lighthearted innocence of young love with a disarming charm. In the latter half, he delivers a devastating portrayal of heartbreak, as Seok-yeong is forced to turn away from the woman he loves under the weight of a repressive era. The final scene, when Seok-yeong, once naive and indifferent, embraces Jeong-in at the interrogation center with desperate resolve, resonates with a sorrow so powerful that it moves even viewers who don’t typically gravitate toward melodrama. (Flora Got PARK)