Mother Care Service is an autobiographical documentary film that examines the family through the eyes of the narrator Chanyoung (the director). Chanyoung takes on the challenge of doing the “care work” that her mother has been doing, but also comes to question why she has inherited care work conventionally assigned to women. She embarks on a journey of discovering the ways a patriarchy lives within her. Chanyoung criticizes the structure in which her mother Hyojeong’s sacrifice maintains the family; however, as a daughter, she also finds that she has been taking Hyojeong’s sacrifices for granted. By examining Hyojeong’s life, Chanyeong asks herself whether she is a woman living the life she wants to live. Her response to the question is, “I want and do not want to live like my mother.” She fears that Hyojeong’s life as a dutiful daughter-in-law will become her own future. Chanyoung strives to help Hyojeong, who is often only called by her role as a mother, to retrieve her name “Kim Hyojeong”. Through this process, she attempts to overcome her fear and live an agentive life. “Care” in the true sense begins when a woman, who has become accustomed to taking care of others, realizes that it is more important to

take care of oneself.