Richa Singh, New Delhi

Do you ever think about what happens after the war is over and everything is destroyed? One such Korean movie that I have watched is Seoul Searching which shows the lives of families who left their country after the war and want their younger generation to be connected with their culture.

Picture Credits: IMDb

Plot

Seoul Searching which is written and directed by Benson Lee is a Comedy-Drama film that was released in 2016 starring Justin Chon, Jessika Van, Cha In-pyo and Teo Yoo. It is set up in the summer of 1986 when the kids of migrated Korean residents come to Seoul to know the culture that is lost during the years living since they moved to different countries.

The movie displays how after the Korean war all the families emigrated to the different countries with a dream. One thing that they were not able to anticipate was that in this fast-paced life, their children may never be able to experience their culture and may become strangers to them due to different values and new cultural adaptation.

The summer of 80’s begin with the teenagers from different countries like the US, Mexico, London and Hamburg Germany coming to their home country in a government-sponsored program to help them learn about their heritage.

The movie begins with a swarm of teenagers coming out from airport depicting the red carpet walk. Their style and habits reflected the country they came from with a whole different story underneath. Though it may be assumed that they were the most outrageous kids on the block, it became evident as the story moves forward with them getting into their dorm rooms.

As it happens they were given separate floors 2^nd floor for boys and 3^rd Floor for girls. One by one all have to bear with their roommates. The interesting thing to watch is how these different boys from different culture and values learn to accept the differences and move towards the discovery of their common roots and values.

The roommates are paired in three except one boy who wanted to be all by himself. Sid (Justin Chon), Klaus (Teo Yoo) and Sergio are the roommates that lead the whole movie.

Sid is one who carries the rock punk look and Klaus seems to be the typical rich and talented one who follows all the rules and is a perfectionist. Sergio is a fun-loving guy who likes to have fun and party. Will they be able to get the bond that they share with the common routes? Only time will tell.

The real comedy begins when the girls and boys decide to party and think it is a good idea to get drunk! The drinks that were supposed to be in the party were the drinks given to Klaus by his uncles as a gift. There starts a competition as a game during triggered by the light heated conversation between Sid and Grace (Jessika Van). The party comes to an end and the drinking leads to the event that you can look forward to.

The night comes and the boys decide to go into the club outside of the secured school parameters for their real life experience. There they meet a girl and Sergio out of habit went and flirted with the girl, that led to them getting their very first practical lesson on Korean culture. This scene is quite interesting and a peak comedy.

The major role played in the movie is by Mr. Kim (Cha In-pyo) who is one of the teachers that is known as the strict master. Mr. Kim has a painful past and a history with his father which makes him relate with emotions that Sid is having who also struggles to share a fatherly bond with his father.

While attending the various classes an unspoken bond is created between Klaus and Kris. It was during the calligraphy class that Kris shared that she was adopted and wanted to look for her real parents. Klaus help her with this task.

Another important scene in the movie you can look forward to is the conversation between Mr. Kim and Sid that reveals Mr. Kim’s past. There are various moment that would keep you hooked to the story.

Why You Should Watch?

Every actor did an impeccable work in portraying their roles. Mr. Kim defined the character of the Man who loved his family but never knew how to express it really well. Character of Klaus portrayed by Teo Yoo was nothing short of perfection. The character portrayal skills will be incomplete without the mention of the roles of Sid and Grace played by Justin Chon and Jessika Van respectively.

There is so much going on in the movie which takes you on a roller coaster ride of emotions from comedy to sad and melodramatic situations. The ending of the movie is really beautiful with the students coming closer to their culture and learning to be more accepting of the differences and letting go of stereotypes.

The movie that begin with some general lifestyle with every passing moment revealed an issue that every teenager go through. Personally, I liked the movie and everyone who has migrated from their home country for variousus reasons can relate. It’s a light and fun movie to enjoy.

Have you seen this movie? Tell us your thoughts in the comments!