Synopsis

By the 1940s, Gyeongseong (colonial-era Seoul) was already immersed in the era of popular songs. Following the release of Yoon Shim-deok’s “Praise of the Dead” in 1926, the city of Gyeongseong during the 1930s rode a wave of modernity—symbolized by the rise of the modern boy, the modern girl, and the growing popularity of pop songs.

*Love, Lies* recreates the fading stage of the once-prestigious courtesan school “Daesung Kwonbeon” in the early 1940s, a time when popular music had begun to dominate the cultural landscape. Through the intertwined destinies of two women—raised to become gisaeng and entertainers—the film portrays the decline of traditional art forms and the natural emergence of the pop song as the new center of mass culture, all set against the turbulent backdrop of Korea’s final years under colonial rule.

The title “Haerhwa” translates to “a flower that understands words.” In the end, the tender, fading memory of this “speaking flower”—destined to disappear—is engraved within the sweeping historical narrative of a nation on the brink of liberation.
(MAENG Soo-jin)

Director

• 
  • Park Heung-sik
  • Park Heung-sik made his directorial debut with *I Wish I Had a Wife* (2001), which earned him the Best New Director award at the Baeksang Arts Awards. He went on to direct several notable films including *My Mother, the Mermaid* (2004), *Bravo, My Life* (2005), *Memories of the Sword* (2015), and *Love, Lies* (2016).