By Ian Kane
NR | 2h 2m | Drama | 2013
The South Korean feature film “Hope” draws its story from a real-life 2008 crime in which a young girl was abducted and assaulted in a public restroom in Ansan, a case that riveted the nation and shook confidence in the country’s justice system.
The incident became widely known as the “Cho Doo-soon case.” The leniency of the eventual punishment for the culprit provoked intense public debate about legal standards and community protections.
In framing this tragedy for cinema, director Lee Joon-ik resists easy dramatization. Instead, he offers viewers a deliberate look at how a family’s life is altered after a singularly violent act.
(L–R) Dong-hoon (Sul Kyung-gu) with daughter, So-won (Lee Re), and wife, Mi-hee (Uhm Ji-won), in “Hope.” GJW+
The setting itself adds context that international viewers might overlook. South Korea is generally considered a safe society. Recorded violent crime rates sit lower than in many other developed nations, and homicide figures are comparatively modest when placed alongside global data.
As a result, when serious crimes like rape and child assault do occur, they register deeply in public consciousness precisely because they’re relatively rare and thus culturally jarring.
A Morning Walk
Dong-hoon (Sul Kyung-gu) lives in a routine shaped by work and fatigue. He spends long hours at his job, comes home, sinks onto the couch, and watches baseball while the day drains out of him.
Related Stories
His wife, Mi-hee (Uhm Ji-won), runs a small neighborhood store and maintains the household. Their evenings often end with her pointing out how little time he spends with their daughter, So-won (Lee Re), which he brushes off. So-won, 8 years olds, moves freely through this home and jokes with her parents, clearly comfortable in their presence. The exchanges establish the family’s ordinary, blue-collar existence.
So-won (Lee Re), in “Hope.” GJW+
One morning, Mi-hee offers to walk So-won to school, but the girl declines, insisting she can make it there in three minutes on her own. Her mother pauses, gives a warning about staying on the main road, and allows her to go. The moment passes quickly, unmarked at the time, as the kind of choice made every day in households everywhere.
Later, that routine way of life is shattered. So-won is discovered severely injured in a nearby bathroom and rushed to the local hospital. From there, Dong-hoon and Mi-hee are pulled into a world of medical urgency and grim explanations.
Mi-hee (Uhm Ji-won) embraces a recovering So-won (Lee Re), in “Hope.” GJW+
Doctors focus on keeping their daughter alive while the parents struggle to absorb what’s just happened. The days that follow revolve around recovery and care, with no clear path back to the ho-hum life that they once assumed would continue.
What Life Looks Like After Trauma
“Hope” doesn’t shy away from showing the harm done, but it refuses to dwell on the traumatic act. The narrative offers just enough to establish what occurred, then it turns its attention to what follows.
Dong-hoon (Sul Kyung-gu) comforts his wife, Mi-hee (Uhm Ji-won), in “Hope.” GJW+
Eventually, viewers get to see what remains once the court process is over and public attention begins to fade. Harm doesn’t stop simply because a “conclusion” has been reached. It carries on through the family members’ daily lives, surfacing at moments no one expects.
The scene in a hospital waiting area is painful to watch. Mi-hee exclaims to Dong-hoon that she blames herself for letting their daughter walk to school alone. When a medical worker appears and explains that only one parent may speak with the doctors about the initial surgery, Dong-hoon steps forward. He does so calmly, holding his wife back so she doesn’t collapse any further in her overwhelming grief; it’s a devastating scene.
The final stretch of “Hope” turns its attention toward recovery and adjustment. The film stays close to the family as they begin to live inside a changed reality, one shaped by love and understanding.
“Hope” is available on GJW+
‘Hope’ Director: Lee Joon-ik Starring: Lee Re, Sul Kyung-gu, Uhm Ji-won Not Rated Running Time: 2 hours, 2 minutes Release Date: April 4, 2017 (United States) Rated: 4 stars out of 5
What arts and culture topics would you like us to cover? Please email ideas or feedback to [email protected]
Comments