by Yeon-Sik Hong
Madang is an artist and new father who moves to a quiet home in the countryside, excited to build a new life with his family. But soon his attention is diverted back to his impoverished parents back in Seoul in a dingy basement apartment. With an ailing mother and an alcoholic father, Madang struggles to overcome the exhaustion of trying to be everything: a good son, devoted father, and loving husband. To cope, he reminisces about their family meals together and his mother's kimchi, a traditional dish that is prepared by the family and requires months of fermentation. A beautiful meditation on how the kitchen and communal cooking-both past, present and future - bind a family together amidst the inevitable.