Christmas in August

Directed by Hur Jin-ho (허진호)

Written by • Hur Jin-ho (허진호) • Oh Seung-wook (오승욱) • Shin Dong-hwan (신동환)

97min | Release date in South Korea: 1998/01/24

Synopsis
In a quiet corner of Seoul, Jung-won runs a small photo studio. A humble shack passed down from his widower father, the studio is a space where Jung-won goes about his daily routine of dealing with fussy customers, enlarging photos of class heartthrobs for the neighborhood kids and photographing pictures to place on funeral altars. For Jung-won, life seems to be a series of peaceful events, but in reality his time on earth is too limited for comfort. Barely in his mid-30's, but perhaps too aware of the meaning of death, Jung-won accepts his fate despite the subtle gestures of concern he gets from his old father and younger sister. Life goes on as usual until one day he meets Darim, an employee at the Traffic Control Division of the local district office. She is a regular customer at the studio who comes everyday to develop snapshots of parking violations. Somewhat bold attempts to capture his attention stir feelings of anticipation inside Jung-won. As his health gradually deteriorates, Jung-won is faced with the painful duty of bidding farewell to family, friends and to Darim.

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