Event created by Sohyun
Help us share the little-known story of how Korea became divided in half in stunning 3D animation!
Presented by Sohyun Moon of South Korea (also known as Korean Unnie), Executive Director of the 3D animated short, A Jeju Story.
Exclusive opportunity to screen the trailer of A Jeju Story prior to its public release and to give input about the future production of the full animated short. Participants do not need to be film experts or know about Korea, they just need to be willing to share opinions about what is presented in the focus group for discussion, including impressions of various characters, scenes, music, and other elements shared during the focus group.
As the demarcation lines were being drawn between the north and the south just after World War II, a small group of islanders off the southern tip of Korea took a stand to try to stop a division they feared would never be undone. What happened next was denied and covered up for decades, as families of survivors paid a heavy price in its wake, after watching their own people wipe out 10% of the population. But their sacrifices, brought to life in A Jeju Story'sstunning animation and sweeping orchestration, call out to the world like whispers of ancestors long departed, with a chilling warning from the other side of mortality: "Tell our story, before the world's lines are drawn forever."
Hi, I'm Sohyun Moon, creator of A Jeju Story. Recently, I sat with my grandfather as he shared with me, for the first time, how the events of the Jeju Island April 3, 1948 incident impacted our family. He was only 3 years old when his father was shot by South Korean police, not far from their home. And yet he spoke with forgiveness in his voice as he told me the lessons we should draw from what happened. When I asked him how it happened, grandpa showed me a dirt road near his village, and as we drove down it, he said, “Those on the left side of the street were spared, and those on the right side of the street were shot.”
I visited the Jeju 4.3 Peace Park and saw the markers for 3 of my ancestors, from both sides of my family, who lost their lives in the incident, and while there, I knew this was a story that needed to be told. But in order for the powerful emotions and meanings of the incident, I decided to give it life through the magic of animation. And the project to create A Jeju Story was born.
The trailer of A Jeju Story gives an early glimpse of the animation project Sohyun (also known as Korean Unnie, who has over 1 Million subscribers on her Youtube channel teaching about Korea and the Korean language) is creating in partnership with Nara Youn as the Director who has over 15 years of experience in feature animation with studios such as Disney Animation and DreamWorks.
The animation portrays ‘Jeju 4.3’ (the events of April 3rd, 1948-49) through the eyes of Sohyun, who was born on Jeju Island and grew up in Seoul. To Sohyun, in her younger days, Jeju is a place of wonders and magic; a sanctuary.
But as Sohyun grows up, she learns about a darker side of Jeju’s story. Over 30,000 civilians were massacred during the 4.3 period just because of a clash of ideologies: a disagreement about unity versus division as a country. Sohyun learns that her own great-grandfather’s life was among those villagers who were sacrificed, and in his case, it happened near his home as his wife and 4 children awaited his return. Sohyun’s grandfather was 3 years old when his dad lost his life in the events surrounding Jeju 4.3.
Sohyun sees this not as just a story about Jeju Island, but as a story of the World. A story of ourselves.
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