Overview of Return to Seoul

‘Return to Seoul’ is a 2022-2023 movie written and directed by Davy Chou. The central theme of the movie is taken from the true life story of the director’s friend. The main cast of ‘Return to Seoul’ includes Ji-Min Park, Oh Kwang-rok, Guka Han, and Kim Sun-young.

The movie portrays the journey of an adopted girl in search of her biological parents.

Profile

• Name: Return to Seoul
• Starring: Ji-Min Park, Oh Kwang-rok, Guka Han, Kim Sun-young, Yoann Zimmer, Hur Ouk-Sook, Louis-Do de Lencquesaing
• Genre: Drama, Slice of life
• Directed by: Davy Chou
• Produced by: Charlotte Vincent, Katia Khazak
• Written by: Davy Chou
• Edited by: Dounia Sichov
• Cinematography: Thomas Favel
• Music by: Jérémie Arcache, Christophe Musset
• Distributed by: Les Films du losange in France, Rapid Eye Movies in Germany, Imagine Film Distribution in Belgium, Sony Pictures Classics in North and Latin America, Middle East, Australia and New Zealand, Westec Media Limited in Cambodia
• Production Companies: Aurora Films, Vandertastic Films, Frakas Productions, VOO, and BeTV
• Countries: France, Germany, Belgium, Qatar, and Cambodia
• Running time: 119 minutes
• Release dates: 22 May 2022 in Cannes, 18 November 2022 in Cambodia, 25 January 2023 in France, 26 January 2023 in Germany and 8 February 2023 in Belgium
• Languages: French, Korean, and English

Cast

Synopsis

Freddie is an adopted girl in her twenties. Unintentionally, she reaches South Korea due to the cancellation of her flight to Tokyo. Alighted from the flight, she checks into a hotel and gets acquainted with a desk clerk, Tena. Her friendship with Tena gives her hope of meeting her real parents. She was adopted by a French couple years ago. From Tena, Freddie learns that she can find her biological parents by contacting the Hammond Adoption Centre.

Initially, Freddie tries to hide her curiosity to find her parents in front of others, but later she contacts the Hammond Adoption Center. Through her investigation, she learns that the adoption centre has the address of her parents, and they can contact them through telegram. If the parents are interested, the adoption centre can arrange a meeting with Freddie. Or if the parents deny it, Hammond can obediently keep their identity secret from the child.

Freddie requests Hammond to send the telegram to her parents. In response, she gets a reply from her father, showing interest in meeting her. Freddie starts her journey to meet her father, with Tena accompanying her to help her with translation.

Her father requests her to stay with him for a few days. The unexpected request makes her uncomfortable, but she decides to stay with his father’s family for a few days. Afterwards, her father starts to show affection and a kind of guilt for abandoning her. Also, he promises her a good life in Seoul. He started sending her text messages, showing his love and care for her, which Freddie finds disturbing. Therefore, she stops responding to his messages.

At night, Freddie and Tena go to a bar, and Freddie meets the man with whom she slept on her first night in South Korea. The man confessed his feelings for her. However, she turns him down. Watching Freddie mock the man, Tena leaves her, saying that she is “a very sad person”.

Freddie bumps into her drunken father in the bar, and he starts to take over her. She screams at him when he tries to grab her hand by force.

Freddie makes an acquaintance with a weapon dealer, André. One day, she tells André that it is her birthday. She wonders whether her mother thinks about her every year on the day she gave birth to Freddie. To celebrate her birthday, André hosts a surprise party. At the party, she tells a co-worker that her mother replied to the adoption centre that she does not want to meet Freddie. On the contrary, she ignores her father who always texts her.

The language was a big barrier for her to communicate freely with the adoption center. After spending five more years in South Korea, she started to speak broken Korean. She is still working with Andre in weapon sales. On a business trip, she makes up her mind to visit her father. He plays a melody on his piano as a gift for her visit. The symphony touches her.

One day, Freddie is informed that the adoption centre received a message from her biological mother, and it gives her hope of meeting her mother. The mother and her child meet at the place arranged by Hammond. Her mother shares her email address with Freddie so they can stay connected.

However, their communication becomes stagnant at some point. On her next birthday, she writes an email to her mother updating her about the latest news in her life, but the mail fails to deliver. She understands that there is no receiver at the other end. She walks to the hotel lobby, sits near a piano, and starts to play a melodious symphony.

Theme

‘Return to Seoul’ revolves around a woman’s search for her true identity. For twenty years and more, she lived as the adopted child of her French parents. However, destiny takes her to South Korea and gives her the courage to uncover the hidden truths about her birth and parents. The girl who accidentally ended up in the land of South Korea stays there for a few more years. Her real mother, who has been unknown to her for the whole time, finally appears, adding the true essence to her identity. The movie takes the audience through a mixture of emotions.

Awards

• Asia Pacific Screen Awards 2022
  Best Director – Davy Chou
  Best New Performance – Ji-Min Park
• Boston Society of Film Critics 2022
  Best Film – ‘Return to Seoul’

Interesting Facts about Return to Seoul

1. ‘Return to Seoul’ is said to have been influenced by the life story of the director’s friend, Laure Badufle, who had gone through similar life situations.
2. Davy Chou is the writer and director of the film ‘Return to Seoul’.
3. The English title of ‘Return to Seoul’ is ‘All the People I’ll Never Be’.
4. ‘Return to Seoul’ received critical acclamation and was shortlisted in the category of Best International Feature Film at the 95th Academy Awards.

FAQs

1. Who is the director of ‘Return to Seoul’?
   Davy Chou is the director of the movie ‘Return to Seoul’.
   
2. What is the Instagram ID of Yoann Zimmer?
   @yoannzimmer.
3. When was the movie ‘Return to Seoul’ released?
   In Cannes ‘Return to Seoul’ was released on 22 May 2022, 18 November 2022 in Cambodia, 25 January 2023 in France, 26 January 2023 in Germany and 8 February 2023 in Belgium.