In the chaos of the Korean War, Mun-suk — supporting her mother-in-law and two young children through piecework sewing — hides a wounded soldier named Chang-gyun in her chicken coop and helps him escape. But the moment he leaves, North Korean forces exact their revenge: the house burns to the ground and the children are taken away. Fleeing south, Mun-suk suffers a traffic accident that wipes away all memory of her past. She rebuilds her life alongside Chang-gyun, now discharged from the military — until the day her daughter Yeong-ju, who recognized her mother in a newspaper photograph, comes to find her, only to be met with a blank stare.
A melodrama that embeds the grief of Korea's separated families within the dramatic devices of amnesia and a mother-daughter near-miss, starring two of the era's biggest stars, Kim Ji-mi and Nam Goong-won. Originally shot in color, only an incomplete 16mm print had survived — until the discovery of a more complete 16mm black-and-white print held by KBS made this screening possible. A work by director Jeon Jo-myeong, who passed away earlier this year, making this an especially poignant occasion. Digitized to 4K resolution in 2024.