[INFORMATION]
KIM Ri-hyang | 2025 | Documentary | 79min
[SYNOPSIS]
As a Zainichi, an ethnic Korean permanent resident of Japan, who's been living in Korea for eight years, I grow a Japanese plant called "Shiso."
The shiso leaf looks like a perilla leaf (kkaes-ip) on the outside, but it has a unique fragrance. It's like me having a Korean name and nationality, but still feeling a sense of alienation within Korean society.
I thought I would return to Japan one day. But when I faced the death of my grandmother, who was a first-generation Zainichi, I began to think about the Zainichi homeland.
Despite being born in Korea, my grandmother spent the majority of her life in Japan, where she was buried after she passed away. Which raises the question, which "home" did she return to in the end?
As people who live as outsiders in both Korea and Japan, where will we return to?
Faced with the proposition of our true homeland, I am forced to confront the past with my mother, which I have long avoided.
[FESTIVALS/AWARDS]
2025 26th Jeonju International Film Festival - Korean Cinema
2025 13th Diaspora Film Festival
[DIRECTOR'S NOTE]
This documentary aims to portray the existence of the Zainichi people living in Korea through the lens of the director, a third generation Zainichi. The narrative unfolds alongside the cultivation of a Japanese plant called shiso.
Planted in the spring, shiso germinates from seed and grows slowly, eventually unfurling its aromatic leaves. It produces fruit in the autumn and new seeds at the end of winter. The growth of the shiso plant mirrors the journey of human life. Throughout the documentary, the story of the Zainichi people unfolds in parallel with the one-year growth cycle of the shiso plant.
Shiso is a vegetable unique to Japan that resembles Korean perilla leaves (kkaes-ip), but has a distinctly different fragrance. For the Japanese, the plant's unique scent evokes a sense of nostalgia even after a brief taste. Zainichi people living in Korea, including the director, often use shiso in their cooking and appreciate its aromatic qualities.
The documentary also highlights the invisible discrimination faced by Zainichi people living in both Korea and Japan.
In addition, the director serves as both protagonist and narrator, enhancing the audience's connection to the film.
[FESTIVALS/WORLD SALES]
Cinema DAL
(03073) 2F, Sungkyunkwan-ro 5-gil 11-3, Jongno-gu, Seoul, KOREA
Tel. +82-2-337-2135
Fax. +82-2-325-2137
Email. cinemadal@cinemadal.com
이방인의 텃밭 (SHISO)
[INFORMATION]
연출 김이향 | 2025 | 다큐멘터리 | 79분
[SYNOPSIS]
재일동포(자이니치)로서 일본 도쿄에서 태어나 8년째 한국에 살고 있는 나는 한국 집 마당에서 '시소'라고 불리는 일본 채소를 키우고 있다.
겉으로는 깻잎과 비슷하지만 특유의 향을 품기는 시소는 마치 한국 이름과 한국 국적을 가져도 한국 사회에서 소외감을 느끼는 나의 모습과도 같다.
"언젠가는 일본에 돌아갈 것이다" - 그렇게 생각하던 어느 날 나는 1세 할머니의 죽음을 맞이하며 자이니치의 고향에 대해서 생각하게 되었다.
한국에서 태어났지만 인생 대부분을 일본에서 살았고, 일본 묘지에 묻힌 할머니는 결국 어디로 돌아간 걸까.
한국에서도 일본에서도 이방인처럼 살아가는 우리는 어디로 돌아갈 것인가.
그렇게 "돌아갈 곳"이라는 명제 앞에서 나는 그동안 회피해 왔던 2세 어머니의 과거와 대면하게 된다.
[FESTIVALS/AWARDS]
2025 제26회 전주국제영화제 - 코리안시네마
2025 제13회 디아스포라영화제
[DIRECTOR'S NOTE]
본 다큐는 재한 자이니치 3세인 감독이 서울의 작은 텃밭에서 '시소(紫蘇)'라는 일본의 식물을 직접 키우며 한국에서 살아가는 자이니치들의 존재를 비유한다.
봄에 심은 시소의 씨앗이 발아하고 천천히 성장하는 것, 먹음직스러운 잎을 피우다가도 갑자기 시들기도 하고, 그러나 가을이 되면 열매 맺고 한 겨울엔 마침내 새로운 씨앗을 남기는 시소의 생장 과정은 한 인간 존재의 일생과도 닮은 구석이 있다. 본 다큐멘터리에서는 이러한 시소의 1년의 생장과정을 따라 자이니치들의 이야기도 함께 흘러간다.
시소는 일본에만 있는 채소로 한국의 깻잎과 비슷하게 생겼으나 향은 전혀 다르다. 일본에서는 주로 매일 장아찌 양념으로 잘 쓰이며, 일본인이라면 잠깐의 맛으로도 단박에 향수가 느껴지는 독특한 향을 가지고 있다. 감독인 '나'를 포함해 본 다큐의 등장하는 재한 자이니치들은 종종 시소를 이용한 요리를 해먹으며 향수를 음미한다.
본 다큐멘터리는 한국과 일본을 오가는 감독인 나의 자연스러운 행보를 따라가면서 한국에 살고 있는 자이니치와 일본에 살아가는 자이니치들의 평범한 일상 속에 숨어 있는 차별을 부각시킨다.
감독 자신이 본 다큐멘터리의 주인공이자 나레이터로 등장하여 영화에 대한 관객의 접근성을 높인다. 또한 일본에 사는 감독의 가족의 솔직한 표정들을 보여줌으로써 다양한 자이니치들의 삶을 조명한다.
[FILMOGRAPHY]
단편
재일동포 1세의 기록 / YTN 다큐멘터리 29분 / 연출 / 2018
- 방송통신심의위원회 <이달의 좋은 프로그램상> 수상
이산의 섬, 사할린 / YTN 다큐멘터리 23분 / 연출 / 2018
코로나 시대의 이주민들 / YTN 다큐멘터리 19분 / 연출 / 2020
[FESTIVALS/WORLD SALES]
(주)시네마 달
서울특별시 종로구 성균관로5길 11-3(명륜3가), 2층
Tel. 02-337-2135
Fax. 02-325-2137
Email. cinemadal@cinemadal.com
[STILL CUT]
[INFORMATION]
KIM Ri-hyang | 2025 | Documentary | 79min
[SYNOPSIS]
As a Zainichi, an ethnic Korean permanent resident of Japan, who's been living in Korea for eight years, I grow a Japanese plant called "Shiso."
The shiso leaf looks like a perilla leaf (kkaes-ip) on the outside, but it has a unique fragrance. It's like me having a Korean name and nationality, but still feeling a sense of alienation within Korean society.
I thought I would return to Japan one day. But when I faced the death of my grandmother, who was a first-generation Zainichi, I began to think about the Zainichi homeland.
Despite being born in Korea, my grandmother spent the majority of her life in Japan, where she was buried after she passed away. Which raises the question, which "home" did she return to in the end?
As people who live as outsiders in both Korea and Japan, where will we return to?
Faced with the proposition of our true homeland, I am forced to confront the past with my mother, which I have long avoided.
[FESTIVALS/AWARDS]
2025 26th Jeonju International Film Festival - Korean Cinema
2025 13th Diaspora Film Festival
[DIRECTOR'S NOTE]
This documentary aims to portray the existence of the Zainichi people living in Korea through the lens of the director, a third generation Zainichi. The narrative unfolds alongside the cultivation of a Japanese plant called shiso.
Planted in the spring, shiso germinates from seed and grows slowly, eventually unfurling its aromatic leaves. It produces fruit in the autumn and new seeds at the end of winter. The growth of the shiso plant mirrors the journey of human life. Throughout the documentary, the story of the Zainichi people unfolds in parallel with the one-year growth cycle of the shiso plant.
Shiso is a vegetable unique to Japan that resembles Korean perilla leaves (kkaes-ip), but has a distinctly different fragrance. For the Japanese, the plant's unique scent evokes a sense of nostalgia even after a brief taste. Zainichi people living in Korea, including the director, often use shiso in their cooking and appreciate its aromatic qualities.
The documentary also highlights the invisible discrimination faced by Zainichi people living in both Korea and Japan.
In addition, the director serves as both protagonist and narrator, enhancing the audience's connection to the film.
[FESTIVALS/WORLD SALES]
Cinema DAL
(03073) 2F, Sungkyunkwan-ro 5-gil 11-3, Jongno-gu, Seoul, KOREA
Tel. +82-2-337-2135
Fax. +82-2-325-2137
Email. cinemadal@cinemadal.com