‘FAQ’ brings humor, imagination to coming-of-age story
The upcoming film “FAQ” explores the grueling world of an 11-year-old girl burdened with private education, weaving a whimsical and imaginative narrative.
Filmmaker Kim Da-min’s feature directorial debut centers on an elementary school student named Dong-chun (played by Park Na-eun), whose after-school hours are consumed by shuttling between various cram schools at the insistence of her mother (portrayed by Park Hyo-joo).
During a school trip, Dong-chun stumbles upon a bottle of makgeolli, or Korean rice wine, and decides to bring some home. To her surprise, the makgeolli begins to emit noises as it ferments, revealing itself to be attempting to communicate with her through bubbling sounds. Eventually, Dong-chun discovers that these sounds correspond to the Morse code for the Persian alphabet.
Set against the backdrop of Korea’s demanding private education system, the reserved and obedient Dong-chun embarks on a journey of self-discovery, guided by her unlikely friendship with the talking makgeolli. As she seeks answers to numerous questions, she delves into an adventure that unveils both herself and the world around her, all while keeping her newfound secret from her parents and friends.
Scheduled for release in theaters on Feb. 28, the film has already garnered significant attention and acclaim, including the prestigious Aurora Media Award at last year’s Busan International Film Festival, recognizing promising new filmmakers.
Kim drew inspiration for the comic fantasy story from her personal experience.
“I enjoy attending classes at community centers in my free time. I once took a traditional makgeolli-making class there. When I brought [the batch] home and watched it fermenting, it felt like it was trying to talk to me. The process of how makgeolli is made fascinated me and sparked my curiosity,” she said during a press event for the film held at a CGV theater in Yongsan District, Seoul, on Thursday.
“Later, in my neighborhood, I saw kids waiting for buses [for cram school] in front of their school, which was an intriguing scene. And I started to wonder about the underlying principle of this as well, so I put them together into one story.”
The film is told from the perspective of Dong-chun and offers a satirical look at the heated private education world and the burden it puts on young students.
Kim aimed to depict Dong-chun’s journey of finding answers to life’s questions, encapsulated in the Korean title “Makgeolli Will Tell You.”
“Rather than intending to criticize private education, my initial thought was more about how a child, as an individual directly involved in the issue, would perceive these things. So, I wanted to depict how she seeks answers to life’s questions,” Kim said.
Dong-Chun, portrayed as rather reticent and introverted, complies with whatever academic demand her mother makes for her without asking any questions until she meets the talking makgeolli. Young actor Na-eun shared her connection with Dong-chun, empathizing with her character’s suppressed desires and dreams amid the relentless push toward academic achievement.
“Dong-chun enjoys daydreaming and has a lot of curiosity. And I wondered why she had so much curiosity. It saddened me to see Dong-chun attending so many cram schools. She must have things that she wants to do, but it felt like her mom only pushes her to academies, so I felt sorry for her,” Na-eun said.
The director, who also took part in writing Netflix’s recent dark thriller series “A Killer Paradox,” said her film echoes her own journey, viewing the world through the lens of curiosity.
“I was a student with a lot of curiosity, like Dong-chun. And I feel I am now fulfilling that curiosity that I couldn’t satisfy back then as an adult. So I’ve been wanting to try diverse genres,” she said.