When Gye-na (Ko A-sung), a disillusioned twentysomething Seoul office worker, is asked why she's decided to drop everything and move to New Zealand, her answer is simple: "Because I hate Korea."
There's the two-hour commute, the cramped apartment she shares with her working-class parents and sister, the meaningless job, the crushing competition, the feeling of looking ahead and seeing nothing better on the horizon.
Her problems are by no means unique. One glance at South Korea's birth rate -- by far the world's lowest -- makes it clear that many young Koreans in the real world don't feel optimistic about the future.
"As a society, are we making an environment for our young people to pursue their dreams? That was what I wanted to question with the film," Jang, known for A Midsummer's Fantasia (2014), Sleepless Night (2012) and Eighteen (2009), said at a press conference Wednesday.
Because I Hate Korea, based on a 2015 bestselling novel of the same name by Chang Kang-myoung, follows Gye-na's adventures in Auckland as she juggles part-time jobs and finds a new cohort of locals and fellow migrants, including free-spirited Jae-in (Joo Jong-hyuk).It doesn't take long for Gye-na to realize, however, that leaving South Korea doesn't turn out to be the magic solution to all her problems. The old cliche applies: Wherever you go, there you are. And in the case of Gye-na, that question -- who exactly she is -- is one she can't seem to answer.
The film's blunt title serves as a kind of misdirect, as Jang's approach favors ambiguity in story and a structure that jumps back and forth in time between New Zealand and South Korea.
While Gye-na struggles to find her footing abroad and back at home, other characters meet clearer fates. Her friend Jae-in thrives in New Zealand, freed from the shackles and expectations of Korean society. The well-off boyfriend she leaves behind, Ji-myung (Kim Woo-kyum), follows through on his career ambitions, while a poorer classmate meets a tragic end that haunts Gye-na.
For Kim, the actor who played Ji-myung, simply asking the big questions marks a generational change for a conservative society that has long been built on clearly defined roles and social expectations.
"The young generation is thinking about what happiness means to them," Kim said at the press conference. "Thinking about the topic itself is very valuable."
At its heart, Because I Hate Korea is a character study anchored by the layered performance of Ko A-sung, known for her work in Bong Joon-ho's The Host and Snowpiercer. She brings depth and believability to a character whose motivations are not always clear, either to herself or the audience.
The film's subtle, indie vibe is reasonably compelling but a far cry from the black humor and sharp satire of South Korean global blockbusters such as Parasite or Squid Game. (It is also perhaps not the type of statement film one might expect as an opener for a major festival.)
