Original subtitles

Village of Haze

Producer Park Jong-chan

Planning Kim Jae-woong, Jo Myeong-hwa

Original novel Lee Mun-yeol

Screenplay Song Gil-han

Cinematography Jung Il-sung

Lighting Cha Jung-nam

Music Kim Jung-gil

Editing Kim Chang-sun

Jeong Yun-hui

Ahn Sung-ki

Park Ji-hun, Jin Bong-jin, Oh Young-hwa

Lee Ye-min, Kim Jee-young, Jo Nam-gyeong

Choi Dong-joon, Jo In-seon Ju Sang-ho, Cho Hak-ja, Kwak Eun-kyung

Kim Gi-bum, Yang Il-min Ra Jeong-ok, Hong Dong-eun, Gwon Il-jeong

Ko Seol-bong, Oh Jung-geun Jang Jeong-kuk, An Jin-su, Sin Yang-gun

Child actor Lee Jae-hak, Im Ok-gyeong Choe Sang-ho, Kim Jin

Chung Kyoo-young, Han Tae-il Sung Myeong-sun, Han Myeong-hwan, Lee Seok-gu Kim Gyeong-ran, Yang Chun

Recording Kim Byeong-su Effect Kim Kyeong-il Color adjustment Kim Gwang-un Developing Korean Film Council

Assistant cinematographer Gu Gyo-hwan Prop Lee Tai-woo Assistant gaffer Im Chun-haeng Still Baek Young-ho

Assistant director Yoo young-jin, Lee Cheol-ho Kim Sang-bum, Choe Dae-yong Script Kim Tae-hyeong

Production manager Lee Wan-ho, Kim Jae-geon

Production officer Cho Young-gil

Director Im Kwon-taek

Hello? Excuse me?

Hello?

Is anyone here?

The first person I met when I got to my post

was a strange and suspicious looking man.

He radiated out a sharp light that stung my skin.

His glaring light scared me

as if I had run into a snake

in a forest.

That fear was

not just a simple ordinary kind of fear.

It shocked me to the core of my being.

Kkae-cheol! Why, you!

What are you doing sitting out here?

Have you gone deaf? Get up!

- Get up! - Excuse me.

Can you tell me where the school is?

The school?

Oh, you must be the new teacher.

Yes, that's right.

Let's see.

Cheol!

Cheol!

What, Mr. Dogok?

Come over here right now.

Out of my way.

She's the new teacher.

Say hello.

I'm Cheol. I'm in fifth grade.

Please show her to the school.

Okay.

- Thank you. - It's nothing.

Let me take that.

It's okay.

The main road takes longer. Let's take the shortcut.

Who was that man in front of the store?

You mean Kkae-cheol?

He's a cripple.

A cripple?

The grown-ups call him a cripple, an idiot and a lunatic.

This is the mill.

Is it closed down?

No, it's just closed for the season.

That's the village, Miss.

The school is this way.

Here we are. That's the school building.

Hello. Welcome.

I'm Han Su-ok.

Hello.

- This is Mr. Kim Man-cheol. - Hello.

Mr. Park Go-cheon.

- Hello. - How do you do?

And Mr. Lee Gi-seob.

- Nice to meet you. - How do you do?

- Mr. Choi Sang-seob. - Nice to meet you.

Please show her to the village chief's house.

Yes, I'll do that.

We'll have dinner together

to celebrate Miss Han's first post as a teacher

at my place.

Thank you.

It's a conservative and traditional village.

You'll learn soon enough

but the make-up of this village is quite unique.

When you call the roll, you'll see that

almost everyone has the same last name.

Even when it's different, they're all related on the mother's side.

A clan village like this is really rare.

It's surrounded by mountains on all sides with only a tiny road into it.

It doesn't have any special commodities to attract outsiders.

Were you born in this village too?

A relative got married into this village.

Is he from this village too?

No, he's not from here.

He's not a family or a relative of anyone here.

He just drifted here one day and he's over thirty

but people just call him Kkae-cheol

and even the kids just call him that too.

This is a clan village and folks are much kinder than city people.

He's a cripple and idiot with nowhere to go

but they don't kick him out.

Is anyone home? Mr. Village Chief?

Hello? Mr. Village Chief?

Hello, sir.

The new teacher is here.

This is the Village Chief.

It's good to have you.

You must be tired from the long trip.

Hello.

Please come in.

Ma'am!

The principal sent me to get the teacher.

I see.

Everyone must be waiting.

Okay.

Gimme some rice.

Gimme some rice.

Even a cripple's got to eat. Give him a bowl of rice and broth.

- That was good. - Where is the thank you?

That was my meal. What's there to thank?

Living in this village won't be easy. I hope you can bear it.

I'll do my best.

It's good that there are no audits or inspections because it's so remote.

But you'll be bored out of your mind from time to time.

Let's start.

- This is my house. - I see.

- Good night. - Bye.

Let me sleep here.

Let me sleep here.

Let me sleep at your house.

I will if you wash up your hands and feet.

I don't need a blanket.

You sleep with your wife.

Crazy bastard.

Come in quietly if you want to sleep.

Dear Yeong-hun, I got here safely.

I left at dawn and got off at the station at 10.

I waited 4 hours for the bus.

At 2 in the afternoon, I caught the bus.

After 2 hours on bumpy roads, I finally reached to the village boundary.

I had to walk 2 km to get to the village of Suha-ri

and another 2 km to get to the school.

The thought of living all by myself in this remote mountain village

daunts me.

Did you sleep all right, Miss?

- Yes, good morning? - Good morning.

- Are you going somewhere? - I'm going for a walk.

Go ahead.

Does he always sleep at other people's houses?

No, mostly he sleeps at the pavilion, the funeral shed or barns.

Then why did he?

When it's too cold or he hasn't fetched wood,

he goes around asking for a place to rest his head.

But once he stays for the night,

he doesn't come around for about two months.

But how can he sleep in the same room...

People are kind-hearted.

He's a cripple and we feel sorry for him.

It's better to give him food and a shelter

rather than see him die from hunger or cold.

Don’t you think so?

What are you doing here looking so pitiful?

Were you here all night?

I was at Gap-sik's gambling with cards all night.

You know that.

Don't lie to me.

Get up. This is embarrassing.

- Let's go inside. - Off your hands!

Why don't you just live there with her? Why coming back?

Do you want to see me hang myself and die?

The Three Bonds and Five Relationships

refers to the three rules and five moral principles

that is the foundation of Confucianism.

Confucianism is based on the teachings of Confucius

and it was accepted as an ethical system long ago in the Three Kingdoms

To this day, it is still an integral part of our lives

and our social code.

King Sejong wrote a book called 'Samganghaengsildo'

to emphasize the importance of actions over words.

Let's write that down.

I was too busy and tired from my new life,

that I forgot about the man named Kkae-cheol.

But when I got used to the new life

and I felt a bit relaxed,

Kkae-cheol was the first thing that came to my mind.

You, idiot! There's one right there.

Can't you see it?

It's right in front of you.

Where are you off to?

Hello.

There was something strange about his relationship with the village folks.

You should drink on a special day like this.

Have one more, you rascal!

Hey, I heard his thing is a foot long.

Let's check it out. Let's see.

Stop moving.

- Stay still! - Let's see.

- We just want to check. - Stay still.

Let's take a look.

Geez, why do you want to feel a eunuch's thing for?

Give him some food and send him off.

He should go.

The village men treated him

like a lunatic or a cripple.

But I saw exaggeration and pretense

like they were trying to hide

that in in fact he really wasn't.

Hello, Kkae-cheol.

Give me some radish.

Here you go.

I want the big one.

Geez, he's a greedy bastard.

Kkae-cheol, take off your clothes. I'll wash them for you.

Better wash your own underwear.

Give me that radish. I'll take off the peel for you.

Better take off your husband's pants.

Geez, what a crazy bastard!

The women were no different from the men.

But underneath their mentality,

I saw something like protective instinct

that is more than just pity for Kkae-cheol.

Kkae-cheol can eat anything.

These are frogs.

And look! These are snakes! Snakes!

Kkae-cheol can catch snakes even in winter.

He's really good at catching snakes.

Grandma!

Grandma! The teacher is here! Come out!

Grandma! The teacher is here!

Grandma!

Where is grandma? The teacher is here.

What are you doing over there?

What's going on?

The teacher is here.

Oh, your teacher is here!

Hello. I'm Sun-i's homeroom teacher.

- Please come in. - No, it's okay.

It's a just a shack but please come in.

Such bad luck!

You wouldn't believe my pathetic life!

When my son died, my daughter-in-law ran off with another man

in the middle of the night.

People say it's the late comers who party the hardest.

Please take good care of Sun-i. She has no parents.

Of course.

I beg of you, Miss.

Give me a bowl of rice wine.

What are you doing here, Miss?

I'm visiting students' homes.

Come on! I said get me a bowl of rice wine.

Where are you coming from?

I was at Hwaryong Market.

Why did you fool around with the mute girl?

Who told you? Did the teacher tell you that?

Of course she didn't!

Just a little bit more…

Oh, goodness... Honey…

Darling…

Dear Yeong-hun, it's going to be another sleepless night.

I often can't sleep at night

because of the lovey-dovey couple.

I remember that night when your room mates yelled at us

because they couldn't sleep because of us.

Now I can understand how much they would suffered from us.

Hey, be quiet! Why, that rascal!

I can't sleep because of you.

Let's get some sleep! Geez, let's sleep!

Are you going to stay up all night?

I told you to drink some wine and go to sleep.

We've run out. Get some more!

It's two in the morning. All the shops are closed.

Take some sleeping pills or something.

Geez, you're driving me nuts!

On nights like this, I miss you like crazy.

It's not just this morning that I started having vague suspicions

about bizarre relationship

between Kkae-cheol and the village people.

For some reason, things that could easily be overlooked

as everyday life troubled me and sprouted suspicions

- in my mind. - Where are you going?

My girl is missing.

Geez, where could she be?

Then one day, something happened

that alluded to what I was questioning about this village.

But neither the man beating nor the man being beaten up

said what this is was all about.

Hwa-cheon, don't be like this. I'm sure it wasn't like that.

Not with all the family and relatives around watching.

Let go of me!

Calm down, Hwa-cheon.

How could the cripple and idiot have done such a thing?

That's right. You are losing face and shaming the family.

Our clan has lived here for over 300 years and morality has been our virtue.

Not one single wife has ever been kicked out for cheating.

Don't cause embarrassment like this!

Stop it! What is this?

Come on, Mr. Hwa-cheon. Have some thought for your wife.

Geez, why would she have done anything

with such a cripple?

Why would she have chosen a cripple

over a fine husband like you? Leave the poor man alone!

Stop this!

He's an impotent cripple who can't even get a wife

even though he's over thirty.

Calm down!

Why are you doing this?

Let's go. Let's go.

Through this commotion I vaguely understood why the village people

put up with Kkae-cheol's existence.

Perhaps being related by blood meant

that they all kept eyes on one another

especially for immoral behaviors.

I was sure that Kkae-cheol's existence in the village

had something to do with its closed nature and it was something sexual.

Don’t go outside.

I'll break your legs otherwise.

But could such a thing really happen?

Before the fact that basic moral principles could be crumbling all of a sudden

I felt ashamed and afraid.

It's my sister-in-law! What are you doing up there?

Get down!

Why, that girl!

Ouch! What's gone into her?

Something's wrong.

Mr. Hwa-cheon!

Are you there, Mr. Hwa-cheon?

What's going on?

There is trouble!

You should go to the water mill.

What happened?

Something must've gotten into her.

She's climbing up and down the water mill.

Let's all go!

OK, let's go!

She's not here.

- Is she over there? - Where is she?

Where did she go?

What's this crazy business?

Where is she?

- Is she in there? - Ms. Hwa-cheon's gone mad.

In there.

What's all this?

Let go of the arm!

Let go!

Stop her!

- Stop it! - Hold her down.

Let go of her! Let go!

Sir.

What were you doing?

Are you out of your minds?

How could you shame our family name like this!

What's the world coming to

when an uncle and nephew throw punches at each other

over some whore?

The word got around to all the other villages

and people are pointing fingers at our clan.

I'm too ashamed to show my face.

- Here is the decision. Chang-gyo? - Yes, sir.

- Dong-man? - Yes, sir.

You don't go outside the gates

until the family gives you permission to do so.

- You got that? - Yes.

Yeongju's Bar

We are here to give you notice. So listen carefully.

You are to either get rid of San-wol the whore

or close down the bar.

Who put you up to this?

It was decided by the family clan.

It's because Uncle Chang-gyo and Dong-man fought over San-wol

and brought shame to the family.

How ridiculous!

Show me a man who hasn't had some fun with San-wol

in this village of Suha-ri.

Enough of this nonsense and get everyone to pay up their tabs!

So ridiculous!

Bro! Bro!

Oh, it's you! Cheol!

What brings you here?

Okay!

You should go.

Who's that woman over there?

Who is it?

It's San-wol.

She's here to collect the money he owes the bar.

Fire! Fire!

Jong-man is in there!

Fire!

My brother Jong-man is in there!

Fire!

Jong-man!

Jong-man!

Uncle Jong-man!

Where are you?

- Jong-man! - Jong-man!

Uncle Jong-man, where are you?

Jong-man! Bro!

Isn't that Kkae-cheol?

A fire?

Who started the fire?

And why are you crying?

Tell me.

Finally I witnessed

the dark side of Kkae-cheol

and understood where the strange protective instinct

of the village women was coming from.

If it really was true that Kae-cheol and the village women

were creating blood ties in secret

through clandestine love affairs,

then how could I face the children as their teacher?

I lost courage and meaning to be their teacher.

All that we've been teaching and learning to this day,

and traditions, moral values

and ethical standards that were deeply ingrained in our minds

were being turned upside down all at once.

And as a human being,

I couldn't help but feel despair, fear, rage and shame

before this this enormous and horrifying fact.

So to keep the light of hope in my mind,

I decided to find out if he really was impotent.

To protect the children from possible complications and harms

and to make the village healthy once again

there was no other way but to check him.

It was the key to removing the last veil

to find out who he really is and what I've been seeing in this village.

So I decided to ask Sun-i's grandmother for help.

Kkae-cheol! Kkae-cheol!

What you doing lying around over there?

Come over here.

Come on. Hurry up!

Let's go inside and have a drink, Kkae-cheol.

Miss!

Geez, Miss!

Miss!

He's really a cripple like they say!

San-wol did everything but his thing didn't even budge.

Kkae-cheol was impotent for sure.

I couldn't help but feel embarrassed and sorry

about jumping to the conclusion

and condemning the whole village

based on just rumors and suspicions.

How do I get forgiveness from Kkae-cheol?

Anyway that incident removed Kkae-cheol off my mind

and from my interest for good.

It was a good thing especially for the village.

But some reason I felt dejected

and stayed in bed with a bad fever for three days.

All of a sudden, I missed Yeong-hun passionately.

Looking back, may be it was my imagination of Kkae-cheol

and the village people that made me burn up

with such passionate longing for Yeong-hun.

Miss!

It's a letter for you.

How are you feeling?

I'm better now.

That's good.

Su-ok, I have good news.

I was awarded a five-day leave from the army

for excellency in field training.

I'll spend two days at home and go straight to you.

I leave in three days on the 20th.

My heart pounds already at the thought of seeing you.

Is it good news?

My fiance will come here on the 23rd.

Really?

Uncle Yeong-cheol, where is your wife?

Hello!

She went to Hwaryong Market to buy groceries with Miss Han.

I brought these for Miss Han's fiance.

Can you give them to her?

Okay, let's go inside.

Isn't Miss Han home?

She went to the market.

Really?

- Come inside. - Okay.

I saved this for a special occasion.

I didn't bring much, just some sticky rice.

- I don't know if... - No, it's good.

Anything is good. It's good to have lots.

We'll have enough for a village banquet.

Why not!

Uncle!

Good! Good!

Good! Good!

Uncle!

- Put them over here. - Okay.

So much!

I brought some sweet potatoes. I hope she likes them.

It's like the family elder's 60th birthday banquet.

Sometimes we see on TV police raids

of illegal dance halls.

Even in broad day, strangers embrace each other erotically

under dim lighting.

In today's society,

people use anonymity to find depravity.

In the city, you only have get on a bus and drive away one stop

from your neighborhood

and almost nobody will recognize you.

Yes. Being able to hide oneself

in other words, anonymity makes people bold.

They say urban anonymity is convenient and tolerant.

And it's causing moral degradation of our time

and encouraging sexual debauchery

especially in women.

It's the same for men, too.

You may be right.

Anyway as time changes,

more and more people miss the clan villages.

The whole village knew everything about one another

and most of the village people would be family or relatives.

There it was hard for women to stray.

They could sometimes go to the town center

but sooner or later, they would get caught.

We'll come back and talk more after a song.

Miss, you got soaked from the snow.

The village people will be disappointed.

They've all been waiting to meet your future husband.

It's okay to come a day late. Tomorrow's just as good.

That's right.

He'll come for sure tomorrow, Miss.

Miss, playing cards is the best thing when you're feeling down.

Come on. Let's play a round.

Yes, let's do that, Miss.

- Come over here. - Let's play.

This will make you forget everything.

- Yes. - Let's play.

I would like to be alone?

Huh?

Okay.

Come on. Let's go.

Sorry.

The value of x is bigger than 2300 but smaller or equal to 2400.

Therefore take away 2300 from 2400 is 100. Right?

Please write all this down.

Attention! Bow!

- Mr. Kim. - Yes?

Could you cover for me just an hour?

Are you going to wait for him again?

Yes.

The bus will be here soon. You should hurry.

Hello! Where are you going?

Oh, you must be here to wait.

Yes.

Have you been somewhere?

My wife is in the town hospital.

Is she getting better?

I'm not sure. She seems to be and then she doesn't.

We'll have to see.

Aren't you coming?

I'll have to wait for the last bus.

Oh, that's not till much later.

I'll be going then.

- Okay. - Goodbye.

It's cold. You should come inside.

It's okay.

Do you want something to drink?

- No thank you. - Okay then.

Miss!

Come inside.

You will have to wait three or four hours for that bus to come back.

- I'm okay. - It's no trouble. Come inside.

- I'm all right. - Come in.

Let's go and have lunch together.

But I'm really okay.

Bye.

Hello, Miss!

Did you finish the rest of the class?

Go home and be good to your parents on the weekend.

Study your textbooks and don't forget your homework.

Yes, Miss. Goodbye!

Okay, okay!

It's so cold.

It's okay.

You're not getting on?

Miss, I've been looking for you.

It's an express letter.

- Thank you. - Welcome.

Sorry, Su-ok.

I had too many drinks with my buddies

and got sick.

When I get my next leave, I will go straight to you.

Let me go! Let me go!

Let me go!

Let me go! Let me go!

Let me go!

Let me go!

Let me go!

Let me go!

Let me go!

Let me go!

Let me go!

Let me go!

I felt embarrassed to think back

but I didn't suffer from any guilt or moral dilemma.

Perhaps he didn't just take advantage of me

but rather I enjoyed the chance of sexual affair.

The only excuse that I could to fork out as an engaged woman

was that at the moment of climax

Yeong-hun's face came to my mind.

For quite a while after that incident,

I was worried.

I was worried that Kkae-cheol might jump into my room

and that people would find out

causing fatal damage to my life.

I felt nervous and worried.

This is not just a personal problem.

You have brought shame on all the teachers.

We want you to resign right away.

You won't believe this.

The teacher and Kkae-cheol were rolling around naked in Sun-i's barn.

How shameful!

Contrary to my worries, Kkae-cheol remained aloof from me

almost cold.

Considering the enormity of what had happened

it was such a neat closure.

I realized his self-control and discretion was another shield

that protected him.

Anyway that incident

made me see the real Kkae-cheol

and understand the village women more than ever.

To put it bluntly,

he was a lover or at least a potential lover of all the village women.

Where are they?

I said where are they?

I've looking for you, cripple!

Don’t you know better than to steal my husband?

I'm going to kill you.

Die!

You, wicked whore!

Die!

What's going on?

Oh, my goodness!

Mrs. Dong-man!

Where are you going?

You, bitch!

Come over here!

I'll kill you and kill myself!

- You, bitch! - Stop!

A whore like you must die!

Let go!

Let her go!

What the heck is going on here?

Stop them!

- Let go! - Let go!

I said let go.

Get off!

Let go right now!

Off you go now!

Hurry, go!

Come back!

You're not going anywhere!

Do you want to get yourself killed?

I do! I don’t care if I die!

- Come here! - Let me go!

Today is going to be your funeral day. Come here!

Let go of me!

No!

I wanted answers to some of the questions

that had been lingering in my mind.

So I carefully told what I had observed to a co-worker

as if I was laying down evidences I had gathered.

Of course, I told him nothing of my own story.

You are very observative.

I only realized what was going on recently.

I had no idea that your observations were

so comprehensive and sharp.

But I still have some questions.

I don't understand why the village men

accept Kkae-cheol's presence.

There could be a lot of reasons

but I think it can be narrowed down to two main ones.

One is their vulnerable ego

and the other is thorough cunningness.

Ego and cunningness?

Ego comes into play when it's their own wives.

They need to maintain their superiority to Kkae-cheol

so they can't acknowledge the fact

they have lost their wives to such a man.

Cunningness is when it's others men's wives.

It's what makes them forgive Kkae-cheol.

As you know every man in this village

is either from the same clan or related.

So it's better for them that it's Kkae-cheol rather than committing incest

or sleeping with in-laws and shaming the family.

Once a man named Hwa-cheon beat him up

in the middle of the village. What was that about?

I think even Kkae-cheol has rules he must follow.

For example, he must avoid the really young wives

or he must not sleep with the same woman twice.

Because young husbands will often

lose their temper and use their fists.

And even an old husband will not stand

to see his wife repeat that kind of thing.

I think that there was a commotion

because Kkae-cheol broke a rule like that.

One more thing.

What do you make of Dong-man's wife

who killed San-wol?

I'm not sure.

It's hard to say,

but I think it may have something to do with

isolation and repression.

What do you mean?

As the eldest daughter-in-law of the family, she lived a life bound by

the strict moral and ethics rules of the clan.

Her affection for husband was particular,

but it was unreturned because of San-wol.

Even so, she could not find an outlet for her sexual repression

like the other wives were doing.

So her repressed emotions exploded in a wrong direction

under the pretense of revenge.

In other words, it was a tragedy caused by closed and repressed sexuality.

Of course, thses are all just my guesses.

You have already observed everything thoroughly

so I just said everything that was on my mind.

But please take care so that

what we have talked about just now

don't reach the ears of the village people.

Of course.

What do you think Kkae-cheol did before he came here?

Where do you think he came from?

I don't know about that.

But there is nothing strange about it.

Wherever people gather to live together,

there are mysterious people like him.

Without Kkae-cheol masked in anonymity

in this clan village

they would've bred within the limited pool

eventually leading to genetic degeneration.

Perhaps in the end, their tree of life

would dry out die.

Come to think of it,

maybe that closed-off village has not yet become a lifeless wasteland

thanks to the water of life that it was getting

from the presence of Kkae-cheol lingering under the surface.

A little over a year had passed since I moved here.

Yeong-hun completed his military duty

and got a job.

In order to marry him,

I had to quit my job and leave the clan village.

My successor whom I had to wait three days to come

insisted that she see me off at the bus stop.

You should go back now.

What a pity we have to say goodbye. We only just met.

I hope you have a good stay here

and also get promoted to another good school.

Miss!

- Miss! - Yes.

We're going to miss you.

I brought some hard-boiled eggs for the road.

- You're really leaving, huh? - Yes.

We're going to miss you.

- Here. - It's for you.

Thank you.

Who is that man?

Well...

I thought about

telling her about Kkae-cheol but decided not to.

If she has

repressed sexual desires

that she can't bear to keep down

like the village wives or like me on that day it rained hard

then that anonymous island might be necessary

after all.

The bus is coming, Miss.

Right.

It's okay. Let me carry it.

Let's go.

- Write to us every now and then. - Goodbye.

Take care.

You should get on.

- Bye. - Bye.

- Goodbye. - Take care.

Take care.

See you!

Keep in touch!

Let's go have a drink now.

Sure. Let's go inside.

Kkae-cheol.

Perhaps he is the face of our subconsciousness

deep inside ourselves

and a godlike presence that eternally lurked

in the inner realms of human beings.

The End

subtitled by Free Film Communications