Choi Eun-hee
94 mins
The Joseon era: Suk-gyeong is the youngest daughter of the late king, whose brother now sits on the throne; her five sisters have been married off to worthy but dull court nobles, a fate she is determined to avoid. So after meeting a handsome young scholar, Suk-yeong resolves to search for him, contriving to leave the palace grounds in which she has been confined her whole life. In this lively costume drama, director Choi Eun-hee, the third woman to direct films in South Korea, takes aim at the stifling class and gender structures navigated by the stubbornly romantic Suk-yeong. A Princess’ One-Sided Love is ultimately a film about role-play in all its myriad forms: a sly comic testament to what can be learned by dressing up.
Choi Eun-hee was an acclaimed actress who starred in many of South Korea’s most popular films in the 1960s and 1970s; in 1965, she became the country’s third-ever female director. In 1978 she was abducted and taken to North Korea, where she and her husband, director Shin Sang-ok, were forced to make films. The pair escaped in 1986.
With an introduction from Eunji Lee, Curator and Festival Director of London Korean Film Festival.
Supported by the Korean Film Archive and the English subtitles courtesy of Korean Cultural Centre UK.