INTERNATIONAL FESTIVAL PREMIERE
Ditto
동감 (Donggam)
South Korea, 2022, 114’, Korean
Directed by: Seo Eun-young
Screenplay: Seo Eun-young
Photography (color): Jeong Ki-wook
Editing: Kim Hyeong-joo
Art Direction: Kwon Ki-jin
Music: Kim Hong-jip, Lee Jin-hee
Producers: Lee Jeong-eun, Shim Mun-bo
Cast: Yeo Jin-gu (Kim Yong), Cho Yi-hyun (Kim Mu-nee), Kim Hye-yoon (Seo Han-sol), Na In-woo (Oh Young-ji), Bae In-hyuk (Kim Eun-sung)
Date of First Release in Territory: November 16th, 2022
A remake of the original film of the same title from 2000, Seo Eun-young’s Ditto aligns with the contemporary longing for the past and romanticizes the 90s. Categorized as a sci-fi romance, one might have pictured a kitschy B-movie or a romantic comedy. But surprisingly, this film draws out feelings of innocent love and heartbrokenness of a traditional romance film in the most genuine way.
Yong (Yeo Jin-gu) is a junior in engineering, a major hardly sought after by female students in the year 1999. When a rare gem named Han-sol (Kim Hye-yoon) joins as a freshman, Yong must fill in for his injured best friend and student council president to show her around. The young couple seems to see sparks in each other, but of course, it’s not so easy for the naive Yong to make his move. This is when he comes across a ham radio. Through it, he meets a stranger by voice. It’s Mu-nee (Cho Yi-hyun), a sociology major who needs to interview someone she doesn’t know for her school project. The two, each with crushes of their own, promise to meet to exchange what they need. Although both show up, the meeting falls through, and after a series of conversations, Yong and Mu-nee come to realize that they’re in different centuries. Yong is living in 1999, and Mu-nee in 2022.
On the same frequency literally and figuratively, Yong and Mu-nee form a comradeship while acting as each other’s relationship advisor. Being the opposite sex allows them to share deeper insight, while the anonymity puts them at ease and in complete honesty with each other. But their relationship shatters the moment Yong finds out his inevitable future. Fate tells him his love won’t come true, but is it predetermined, or will his actions lead to evolve into the world Mu-nee lives in 2022? Regardless, the hearts of these two youngsters inexorably break for one another, and surprisingly, not because they fall in love with each other. The moment Yong’s world falls apart, Kim Kwang-jin’s Letter (2000) plays in the background, speaking on behalf of Yong’s heart.
The late 90s and early 00s were the height of Korean romance movies, marked by titles like The Contact (1997), Christmas in August (1998), Il Mare (2000), Bungee Jumping of Their Own (2001), One Fine Spring Day (2001), and The Classic (2003). But the genre was soon exhausted, and perhaps the breakthrough of the romantic comedy My Sassy Girl (2001) played a part, but this lighter genre took dominance while traditional romance films phased out. Some argue this phenomenon was caused by TV drama series that made the genre easily accessible, but whatever the reason, it became increasingly difficult to see romance films on the silver screen. But like fashion, trends return. Remakes, reboots, and sequels are becoming immensely common, not just in Korean cinema but in Hollywood as well. But what makes Ditto interesting and unique is that it’s a Korean remake of a Korean production. Seo’s remake not only turns the original story contemporary and timely, but it also switches the gender of the protagonist to give a refreshing new perspective.
Like her debut film Overman, Seo returns to the theme of love and fate with another coming-of-age story. Ditto encourages us to follow our hearts while satisfying our nostalgia. Like Mu-nee who connects with the past through the ham radio, Ditto connects us to our past where we linger and question the love that could have been.
Seo Eun-young
Seo Eun-young studied at the Korea National University of Arts, majoring in film directing. She shot several short films, including Rainy Season (2013), The Beginning of a Murder (2014) and Part-Timer Paradise (2014) which screened at various international film festivals. Her debut feature Overman premiered at the 2015 Busan International Film Festival, where it won the Daemyung Culture Wave Award. In 2021 she followed this up with Go Back, a feature about child abuse which screened at the Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival, winning a distribution award. Ditto is her third feature.
FILMOGRAPHY
2016 – Overman
2021 – Go Back
2022 – Ditto