Original title: Jam Docu 강정 (Jam Docu Gangjeong)
Year: 2011
Length: 104 min.
Format: HD
Aspect: 16:9
Color/BW: Color& B/W
Audio: Stereo
Director: KYUNG Soon, KWON Hyo, KIM Tae-il, YANG Dong-gyu, JUNG Yoon-suk, CHOI Jin-sung, HONG Hyung-sook, CHOI-HA Dong-ha et al.
Genre: Documentary
Release Date: Dec. 22, 2011
International Film Festivals:
2011 Busan International Film Festival
2011 DMZ International Korean Documentary Film Festival
Jeju Island, there is no otherplace like it in Korea.A favored vacation spot south of the mainland, Jeju has maintained a unique identity, culture, and history. Despite this, it is announced that a naval base will be built in the small village of Gangjeong (also spelled Kangjung). Villagers protest, and after news of a hunger strike by Jeju-born film critic YANG Yoon-mo goes viral on Twitter, a mass of film professionals travel to the island in solidarity. Among them are the directors of this documentary, each capturing the island’s atmosphere in a different way. One creates a photo essay with elementary school students, one chronicles the independent bands and musicians playing day and night at the protest site, another develops a relationship with the elderly villager caretaker. What results is a collage of the culture and politics of Gangjeong in this contemporary moment.
The consortium of directors collaborating on <Jam Docu KANGJUNG>all are active in various sectors of Korea’s independent film scene. Among their accolades, Hong Hyung-sook’ s <Reclaiming Our Names> (1998) was awarded Best Korean Documentary at the Busan International Film Festival (BIFF), Choi-Ha Dong-ha’s <High Hill> (2003) was screened at both BIFF and Cinéma du Réel in France, and Kim Tae-il won the Woonpa Award at BIFF with <Annyong, Sayonara> (2005).
