Beautiful Days

Driven by desperation, a young North Korean woman (Lee Na Young) with no other options, finds herself willing to attempt the impossible. Successfully defecting to China, she and her husband (Oh Kwang Rok), a native Korean, welcome their son into the world. But even her new life in China can’t bring her the satisfaction she craves. Desperate to find a better life, she travels abroad, leaving her husband and son to carry on without her. Fourteen years later, Zhen Chen (Jang Dong Yoon) and his father have made a comfortable enough life for themselves. Still living in China, Zhen Chen has no memories of his mother and might not have ever given her a second thought, if not for the fact that his father, now terminally ill, has made a dying wish to see his ex-wife one more time. In an effort to make his father’s wish come true, Zhen Chen sets out to find his long-lost mother. Tracking her down in South Korea, Zhen Chen is utterly disgusted with the life she has chosen for herself. Brimming with hurt and disappointment, Zhen Chen returns home with nothing but a battered notebook to show for his efforts. Despite the unfavorable feelings he harbors towards his mother, Zhen Chen’s curiosity prompts him to flip through the pages of the notebook she gave him. Reading the story she left for him on those pages, Zhen Chen begins to realize there is so much more to his mother than he ever realized. But will knowing the truth be enough to erase fourteen years of anger and bitterness? Based on a true story, “Beautiful Days” is a 2018 drama film directed by Jero Yun.