MAIFF 2026  -

Retrospective of Ahn Sung-ki

Our Joyful Young Days

Online screening

Fiction

130

minutes

Content Warning:

About the Film

Director

Bae Chang-ho

Country

Korea

Year

1987

Program

Retrospective of Ahn Sung-ki

Curated by

MAFF Programming Team

Description

Synopsis | Yeong-min falls in love with Hye-rin, whom he first meets through a theater performance during his college years. Devoted to her from afar, he anonymously sends flowers, fruit, and other gifts whenever she performs onstage. However, Hye-rin marries Oh Sung-woo, an obstetrician-gynecologist, and leaves for New York. Later, Yeong-min spots Hye-rin, the woman of his memories, on the subway, only to learn that she is now divorced. The deeper Hye-rin’s wounds and sorrow become, the stronger Yeong-min’s love grows, and Hye-rin eventually agrees to marry him. But while suffering from symptoms of toxemia during pregnancy, Hye-rin refuses her doctor’s advice, gives birth to Yeong-min’s child, and dies.

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About the Director
Bae Chang-ho
Director
After graduating from university and working in a corporate job, Bae Chang-ho began to give concrete shape to his long-held dream of filmmaking in the late 1970s. His early works were shaped by both artistic ambition and the realities of making films within the commercial and social constraints of the time. Rather than following a single, fixed style, his films moved across different tones and subjects. Yet beneath that variety was a consistent warmth toward people and the world around them. His cinema often looked at youth, love, social pressure, separation, desire, and the search for dignity with an affectionate and humane gaze. Through popular storytelling, he sought to restore trust in Korean cinema and reach audiences without losing sight of human vulnerability.
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Awards & Festival Recognition

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