Synopsis

Yeong-hwa, a pheasant player in the gugak department, and Myeong-jin, a butcher and peasant, suffer the death of their best friend Yuna. Myeong-jin tries to share her grief with Myeong-jin, but Myeong-jin keeps avoiding the subject of Yuna, and their relationship is strained. Eventually, the two pheasants stop practicing when their jangdan, the instrument they play together, creaks, and they are the only ones left in the room. When Yeong-hwa tries to bring up Yoo-na, Myung-jin tries to leave again, but the door locks and the two are trapped in the practice room.

Program Note

The Second Language tells the story of a group of girls who share a misunderstanding, rivalry, and love-hate relationship set in a gugak department. In Ssangnori, two hwakgwari players exchange rhythms with each other, and the film captures the emotions of two twenty-somethings who have yet to fully accept themselves and others through the strength and rhythm of the hwakgwari. The emotional impact of this musical language, rather than dialog, is maximized by the fact that one of them is a spoken language and the other a sign language user. The exchange of sounds and hand gestures, which used to cause misunderstandings and delays, gradually becomes urgent and finally equalized. (Somi Kim)

Director

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  •  Kim Eunseo