KIM Myunwoo
In front of the Seongnam Branch of the Suwon District Court, there is a small legal firm where a father, a certified judicial officer, and his clerk son, work to help the rehabilitation of people in debt. However, it is the judicial officer father who is in desperate need of rehabilitation. He has secretly amassed a debt of 1.5 billion won through horse racing and stocks.
Given his debt and job as a judicial officer, he cannot apply for rehabilitation. After eventually finding out about his father¡¯s situation, the son dropped out of college and has been assisting his father¡¯s work for the past 6 years. They will now have to work at least 20 years helping others pay-off their debts before getting rid of their own debt. Compared to the three-year repayment period established under the Individual Debtor Rehabilitation Act, the fate of this father and son is somewhat harsh. While the son blames his debt-ridden father, the father resents his interfering son for taking away all the economic power. The father and son fight really terribly every day.
Some people live painful lives due to their personal debts or the debts of their sons, daughters, siblings and parents. By living in such a state of despair, what is there to rely on in life? In the midst of our give-and-take lives, what choices can be made when faced with repaying a debt? Ultimately, it is the clients who visit the legal firm for rehabilitation that provide the father and son their own chance at rehabilitation. In this film, by recording his father, who was ineligible for rehabilitation, and clients currently preparing for rehabilitation, the clerk son wants to show the moment of how their debt is becoming their hope.
As a clerk, after working on the rehabilitation applications of more than 200 people, I found that excessive amounts of debts were always preceded by family discord and alienation. These debts are more often accumulated during one¡¯s childhood and must be paid-off first. Even if rehabilitation approval is received from the court to write-off tens or hundreds of millions of won, the underlying problems of life do not get resolved. These days, it is not uncommon for people to commit suicide due to a debt of two million won. Through this film, I would like to convey the opinion that every debt originates from the debt of the heart.
My father, a certified judicial officer, also has a father who lost his entire fortune from a health product pyramid scheme, a father he has not seen for decades, and who suffers from Agent Orange after participating in the Vietnam war. If this documentary can reunite an old father and son who have been estranged for decades and alleviate some of the hard feelings between them even just a little bit, I think my heart would feel better. I believe in the words of the poet Ryu Shiwha who said that an assembly of despair may become hope. A legal firm is where despair gathers. Accordingly, it is also the place where glimmers of hope can arise.
KIM Myunwoo