Audience Member
I had a fabulous opportunity to get my first look at a couple of films being shown as a part of the San Francisco International Asian-American Film Festival. My friend, Geneva took me along with her to Berkeley since she was doing a film review of Made In Korea: One Way Ticket Seoul-Amsterdam. The documentary starts out as a filmmaker's attempt to reunite with the eight other Korean adoptees who flew into the Netherlands in 1980 as babies. He finds one of those adoptees, who ends up becoming his girlfriend. Her story of reuniting with her birthmother in Korea, stirs up curiosity in him, where there was none before.
To In-Soo Radstake, he was just a typical Dutchman who really didn't think of himself as Korean. With the support of his girlfriend, he embarks on visits to Korea that really open up his feelings regarding being adopted and cultural identity. This was a very well done documentary. Most adoption-related documentaries are from the view of female adoptees who have already embraced the whole search for one's roots. It was refreshing to see a male adoptee speak up from a more skeptical and pragmatic point-of-view. It was also refreshing to see a male adoptee be able to show his more emotional moments during his search that he shares with his girlfriend, who is clearly his emotional support.
As an adopted person, I felt for him when he hit "the wall of shame" in regards to his own information about the facts surrounding his birth. He declares without a hint of doubt that the information contained in the orphanage's file is his own information. Without his own birth occurring that file would never exist. The film shows that in order to get simple information about oneself, adopted persons have to get creative and trick people into releasing information. When official channels fail to locate his birth mother, he quite reluctantly goes on reunion shows he detests. It reminded me of the time before the Internet adoption search community evolved where it seemed the only way to search was to go on daytime talk show reunion episodes. Part of what turned me off on the concept of searching is that I also detested such shows and felt if that is the only way to search it isn't worth it. I had to wait until there were more discreet ways to search.
After the screening, Geneva and I had the opportunity to meet with the In-Soo and his girlfriend, Ungila. It turns out that Insoo didn't really want to turn the camera on himself, but his producer thought it would be more compelling if it centered on his point-of-view as an adopted person. In-Soo admits now that the producer was right. In the film, there are brief profiles on a couple more of the adoptees he found that had mixed experiences when they went to Korea and found their birth family. This seemed to serve to temper his expectations are raised somewhat by Ungila's experiences.
When asked about how he feels now on the completion of the film and showing it in regards to feeling he is Dutch or Korean, he says he definitely feels Korean. The film has brought out a lot of Koreans, particularly adopted Koreans. It seemed to me that the language barrier and being from a more progressive country while being confronted with a more closed Korean society does present challenges in feeling Korean.
I talked to Ungila and it turns out that it was her Dutch mother who asked her at 14 if she could search for her because if she waited until later it might be more difficult to find. In the film, Ungila's mother is clearly deep in guilt over not being able to raise who she feels is her daughter. She says through an interpreter that she feels always a sinner and doesn't see the use of digging up the past. I learned after the film that it was her birthfather's family who gave her up after a divorce without telling the mother until Ungila was in Holland. In Korea, when couples divorce, custody goes to the father. Ungila's Dutch parents and her birth mother stay in touch despite not speaking each others language. They call each other, greet each other in each others language, giggle, and hang up.
Rated 4.5/5 Stars •
Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars
01/27/23
Full Review
Audience Member
this film touched my heart. the love story within the search for family was truly beautiful.
Rated 5/5 Stars •
Rated 5 out of 5 stars
02/16/23
Full Review
Audience Member
You just have to see it :-P ...
Wanna see me??? hihihi.. fortunately, my look changed....hihhihi
http://www.variety.com/review/VE1117933198.html?categoryid=1270&cs=1&query=made+in+korea
* Pusan International Film Festival
Pusan (Zuid-Korea), 12 - 20 October 2006
Worldpremiere, Wide Angle section
* IDFA flies T(r)opics - International Documentary Filmfestival
Paramaribo (Suriname), 30 November - 10 December 2006
* International Film Festival Rotterdam (IFFR)
Rotterdam (The Netherlands), 24 January - 4 February 2007
Time & Tide - programme
#6 in KPN Audience Award - Highest and only Dutch film in top-10 ranking
* San Francisco International Asian American Film Festival
San Francisco / Berkeley (USA), 15 March - 25 March 2007
North-American premiere
* Sunscreen Film Festival
St. Petersburg (Florida, USA),
6 - 8 April 2007
* Minneapolis/St.Paul International Film Festival
Minneapolis (USA), April 19 - April 29 2007
#6 in Audience Award
* Asiascope Film Festival
Rotterdam (The Netherlands), 19 april - 22 april 2007
* Barcelona Asian Film Festival
Barcelona (Spain), 27 April - 6 May 2007
* Mosaiques Cultural Film Festival
Londen (United Kingdom), 10-20 May 2007
* Asian American International Film Festival
New York(USA), 19-28 July 2007
# Nominated for the Emerging Director (Documentary) Award
* EBS International Documentary Festival
Seoul, Zuid-Korea, August 26 - 2 Sepember 2007
# Honorable Mention by the Jury
* Nederlands Film Festival
Utrecht, 26 September - 6 October
# Nominated for Talented Young Film Maker
Rated 4.5/5 Stars •
Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars
02/07/23
Full Review
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