REVIEW: SEOUL SEARCHING Coming to Los Angeles June 24th

REVIEW: SEOUL SEARCHING Coming to Los Angeles June 24th

21 Jun, 2016

This Friday, June 24th, in Los Angeles, Wonder Vision’s feature SEOUL SEARCHING–“a John Hughes-esque comedy about making friends, falling in love, and discovering your roots along the way”– will be screening. Join director Benson Lee, the film star’s Justin Chon (Twilight – Series), Jessika Van (Awkward) and others…

Buy a SEOUL SEARCHING ticket for any day of opening weekend in Los Angeles (June 24-26) and get access into the ’80s Private Prom after party (21+) on Friday, June 24th. Get your tickets and RSVP on Facebook (visit this page for more details.)

And for those of you in SF,  SEOUL SEARCHING will be coming to San Francisco on July 15th!

Watch the SEOUL SEARCHING movie trailer

View our exclusive SEOUL SEARCHING red carpet photos!

Listen to Podcast: Exclusive Sundance Film Festival round table interview by Dig In Magazine’s Cindy Maram with the SEOUL SEARCHING cast, director Benson Lee and producer Andrea Chung.

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Writer/director Benson Lee’s playful and meaningful new movie, SEOUL SEARCHING breaks any stereotypes or ideas you may have had about Korean youth. The film is set during the 1980s, a time when the Korean government set up a summer camp for Korean teens, who were viewed as having a disjointed relationship from their Korean culture as a result of immigration to foreign countries following the Korean War. These youth, who were ethnically Korean, were raised in various parts of the world and many did not even know how to speak Korean. SEOUL SEARCHING is loosely based on a true story from Lee’s youth of a group of Korean teens being forced by their parents to attend a summer camp in Seoul, Korea to learn the culture and language. The film also chronicles their mischievous adventures and life lessons learned along the way.

SEOUL SEARCHING opens with historical scenes in black and white from the Korean War. Lee, then, fast forwards and cuts from the serious tone to a colorful scene at the Seoul airport of the students arriving, each representing a different stereotype that we are so familiar with. We have the Korean-American punk rocker (played by Justin Chon), the Madonna look-alike (played by Jessika Van), the goody-goody twin sisters, the hot introverted girl, the army vet, B-boys in the vein of Run DMC, the metro-looking female Tai Kwan Do black belt, the conservative German-Korean (who is actually played by a German-Korean actor) and a Mexican-Korean (also played by an actor that speaks fluent Spanish and is ethnically Korean from Spain). As they walk onto the airport scene greeted by traditional Korean summer camp teachers, their behavior and dress shock those looking upon them. Chon’s character, the punk rocker, is named after Sid Vicious of the Sex Pistols. Sid turns out to be a large focus of the film. Upon his arrival he performs a humorous and rebellious hard rocker dance that drops jaws. Sporting attire that represents who they want to be in life, each of these characters look to pop culture and fashion icons as models for dress and behavior.

The movie is light-hearted and funny, but overlaid with deeper, true-to-life, themes. Some of these themes include that of Asian immigrant children’s lack of knowledge and understanding of their cultural roots, as well as their difficulties relating emotionally to the older generation of traditional Korean parents and teachers. Culture shock, on the part of the students and the teachers, occurs on many levels. Just as the Korean teachers are shocked by the actions of these teens, the students, many speaking different languages–being from different countries and cultures–also shock one another. For example, Sid is in disgust that his two roommates, one from Germany, the other from Mexico, sport speedo underpants instead of his style of boxer briefs, insinuating that they are homosexual. Love sparks between some of the students as the boys are constantly trying to sneak onto the girls floor after visiting hours.

Lee raises fundamental ideas of Korean history and ancestry, the Americanization of immigrant youth along with their disconnect from traditional Korean culture, and the clashing of social/culture stereotypes together in a way that is fun and playful, but at the same time truthful and realistic. Bringing together a cast of talented young actors, SEOUL SEARCHING is old school ’80s summer camp movies of misbehaving youth who discover love and friendship along the way, meets the wild partying adventures of the recent HANGOVER films. Many stereotypes, both racial and social, are broken down. In the end, no matter what differences exist between people, may it be historical, cultural, personality conflicts or superficial in terms of outer appearance, these Korean teens have a bond that cannot be denied, their Korean heritage.

Photo credit:

Seoul Searching, Sundance Film Festival 2015
In Photo: Kang Byul Rosalina Leigh, Sue Son, Jessika Van, Cristal Kay. Teo Yoo, Justin Chon, Esteban Ahn
Directed by Benson Lee
Daniel Katz

Review “Sundance 2015: Seoul Searching Explores Korean Heritage” first posted on January 20, 2015.

About the author

Cindy Maram

Cindy Maram is a Dancer, Public Speaker and our Founder & Editor-in-Chief of the entertainment, fashion and arts publication, Dig IN Magazine. She is an accredited film critic for Cannes Film Festival in the South of France, Venice International Film Festival in Venice, Italy, Sundance Film Festival, Tribeca Film Festival, Mill Valley Film Festival, SFFilm Festival and CAAMFest, as well as a runway fashion photographer and editor for London Fashion Week and New York Fashion Week. She also serves as a professional sports photographer and writer. She is a prolific art critic providing media coverage for Art Basel Miami Beach and surrounding Miami Art Week fairs. As a creator, Cindy is a writer, vlogger, podcaster, social media strategist and manager possessing a Bachelor's Degree from UC Davis and Master's Degree completing graduate work in Mass Communications + Popular Culture Studies with an emphasis in Film/Marketing/Writing from Cal State Fullerton. Further, she is producer of independent feature length and short films, and is committed to supporting the visibility of underrepresented groups in the media and film industry.

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