JOY ELLEN YOON — The Story of Our Home

Many of us are familiar with popular Korean songs and dramas. In fact, South Korea has become known all around the world for its K-pop music and T.V. dramas. Recently, South Korean movies have even been recognized at the Academy Awards. In 2020, the film Parasite won South Korea’s first Oscar for best picture of the year, best director, and best original screenplay.

What many people do not know, though, is that North Korea also has its own form of pop music, T.V. dramas, and films. Many of these films and songs can be found online, one of which is titled, “The Story of Our Home”.

“The Story of Our Home” is about three young children who have lost their parents. To keep the family together, the eldest sister, Un Jong, refuses to send her siblings to state-run homes, but in doing so at the age of fifteen, she struggles to care for her younger siblings. Her brother and sister do not appreciate the enormity of the responsibility she has and only complain that she fails to live up to the standard of their mother.

In the midst of this family crisis, a young neighboring lady named Jong Ah takes it upon herself to care for these children. She is the daughter of one of Un Jong’s mother’s work colleagues and somehow has a personal affection for the three children.

But Un Jong refuses Jong Ah’s help. She insists on teaching her siblings self-reliance and is worried that they are becoming spoiled by Jong Ah’s assistance. Despite multiple rejections, Jong Ah persists in caring for the children. Jong Ah’s persistence pays off as Un Jong eventually learns to trust her and see the error of her own ways.

Initially, Jong Ah, like Un Jong, struggles to care for three children all by herself. At the age of eighteen, she is barely an adult herself. But through her struggles, the rest of the community discovers the needs of these three children, and the whole community comes together around these kids to support and care for them. The climax of the film is when Jong Ah is nationally recognized and praised for her self-sacrifice and initiation in carrying out the ideals of the communist party by her caring for Un Jong and her siblings. She is rewarded with the title of “a mother of our era and a daughter of the Party”.

Three key aspects of North Korean society stick out through the film. The first is the ideal of self-sacrifice or self-denial. Jong Ah is asked repeatedly, “Why are you doing this?” by both the children she cares for and by the entire community. Why would she spend all of her energy and time carrying for children who have no relation to her? Towards the end of the film, she reveals the answer. As the children and her discuss each other’s future dreams, the children share with her what their future aspirations are. But then one child asks Jong Ah what her dream is. She answers, “My dream is for each of you to achieve your own dreams.” Her self-sacrifice is praised because it ensures the success of those around her.

Related to this concept is the key aspect of community. Both Un Jong and Jong Ah fail to fully care for the family on their own. By themselves, they struggle immensely. Un Jong fails in her studies and Jong Ah is late and inefficient at the workplace. They need the help of others in order to be successful. Once the whole community comes together, then they have the support they need to effectively care for one another. The villagers repair the children’s home, which is in disarray. They provide furnishings, school supplies, and meals for the children. One main message of the film is that family includes not just one’s nuclear family but also extends to anyone in need within the whole of society. Happiness is found in finding one’s place within the larger national family.

Finally, the film reinforces the North Korean ideology of self-reliance. However, the way self-reliance is demonstrated is not in an individualist manner. It is not that each person is to be self-sufficient but that as a whole nation, by relying upon one another and working together, the whole of society can be self-reliant.

This film provides deep insights into the values of North Korean society. These central values include self-sacrifice, community, and self-reliance but also persistence and humility. It gives a glimpse into the kind of attitudes we need to possess in order to successfully approach North Koreans. What are our motivations for reaching out to them? Are we humble and self-sacrificial in the way that we approach them? Are we willing to keep trying and persistently reach out to them even if they are initially unresponsive? Much about North Korean society and the North Korean mindset can be learned from this film. The film implies that in order for international workers to successfully reach out to North Koreans, a deep commitment to the wellbeing of the North Korean people will be necessary in order to move beyond any initial rejection from them. But once these initial barriers are overcome, there is potential in being included and accepted as part of their larger community.