Huhwaehaji Anah

In his feature film debut Korean director Leesong Hee-il tells the story of a gay love affair that draws as much inspiration from the modern melodramas of Asian queer cinema as it does from the social realism of Charles Dickens' novels. Su-min has grown up at an orphanage in the country. When he comes to Seoul to study design he encounters a world that is completely alien to him. At first he finds a job at a factory, only to lose it swiftly as a result of redundancies. Before long, Su-min finds himself working as a rent boy at a gay bar. Among his admirers is Jae-min, the son of a wealthy family, who does everything in his power to win Su-min's heart and, naturally, his physical devotion. Jae-min's father is a factory owner. His family is very conservative and his relatives would certainly not be able to come to terms with Jaemin's sexual persuasion. Su-min finally gives in to his admirer's urging and an intensely passionate affair begins. But the young men's happiness is short-lived. Finally, the pressure that Jae-min's family exerts upon him turns a blissful relationship into unbearable suffering and their romance ends in tragedy.