Workers
MOON Junghyun
- Korea
- 2018
- 52min
- 12 +
- DCP
- color
Synopsis
The Seongdong area of Seoul has been home to many small and medium-sized manufacturers. The once iconic red brick factories have given way to redevelopment, making way for galleries, cafes, and upscale restaurants. As a result, Seongdong has seen the largest increase in land rental prices in South Korea. Regrettably, this transformation also reveals a harrowing story: for the past five decades, hundreds of shoemakers have worked tirelessly for up to 18 hours a day, making shoes for wages below the minimum standard. Each day, these workers leave their homes for work, not knowing if it will mark their final day in this relentless cycle.
Review
Workers follows the year-long struggle of handmade shoemakers in Seongsu-dong. Although they are craftsmen with over 30 years of experience, they are more commonly known as 'footwear workers'. After a strike and occupation by workers of a famous handmade shoe brand, they begin to take action to break the chains of exploitation that bind them. Moon's camera goes beyond faithfully documenting the struggle and succeeds in conveying the workers' long-held despair and anger. This is a remarkable accomplishment that can only be achieved when the camera is equipped with the virtue of empathy.
Director
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MOON Junghyun
Moon has been an integral part of the independent film production group Purn Production since 2003. Notably, Moon's documentaries have garnered recognition and acclaim, including the BIFF Best Documentary Film Award for Grandmother’s Flower (2007), the Yamagata International Documentary Film Festival Award for Yongsan (2010), and the joint-directed work Collapse (2014, co-directed with Lee Wonwoo). In addition to these, Moon's documentary works such as After Chosun (2020) and Bad Apple (2020) have been screened at various Korean and international film festivals.