<Love Me Once Again>

Director : Jeong So-young
Starring : Shin Young-kyun, Moon Hee, Jeon Kye-hyeon
Location Sites : Mukho Port, Donghae City, Gangwon Province

Film Information

<Forgive Me Once Again Despite Hatred> played a decisive role in the development of the Korean film history in the late 1960s when films started to be shot in color and the tendency of the melodrama genre moved toward the so-called "new school." Acclaimed as "a miracle of a box office hit," this movie broke previous box office records by attracting 370,000 filmgoers. The impact of <Love Me Once Again> was so great that five subsequent sequels and remakes were made based on it with <Forgive Me Once Again Despite Hatred (2002)> as the latest of the series along with a flood of similar melodramas.

Film historian Lee Yeongil criticized <Love Me Once Again>, saying "I feel this movie encapsulates the general tendency of the 1960s," adding "The story traditionally follows the pattern of family tragedy familiar to all [Korean films]." He also explained that the melodramas made during that time were the result of the fact that contemporary people "lost" themselves by identifying with characters on the screen, with movies in the early 1960s tending to vividly depict the difficulties of everyday life. Traditional film historians have generally disparaged these "new school dramas" of the late 1960s, while some feminist critics positively interpret these films in a new light by associating the text with female audiences of the time. In any case, the melodramas made during this period are important to analyze given that <Love Me Once Again> transformed the topography of Korean melodrama in the 1960s, and this transformation reflects Korea's historical change. Heated debates of longstanding on this film also demonstrate the continuous influence of <Love Me Once Again>.

Starring top actors such as Mun Hui, Sin Yeong-gyun, and Jeon Gye-hyeon, the movie's star power easily became the center of the public's attention. Kim Jeong-hun played the son Yeong-sin, revealing his genius in acting and went on to become loved by film fans for his role as the 'bridegroom,' that he played in a different film.

Synopsis

Hye-yeong wants to marry Sin-ho, but it is not until Sin-ho's wife comes to Seoul from the rural village where she was living that Hye-yeong actually discovers that Sin-ho is married. She leaves Sin-ho, gives birth to Yeong-sin, their love child, and brings him up alone. But eight years later she revisits Sin-ho and asks him to take care of her son for the sake of his future. Yeong-sin however is not happy with living with his father and longs for his mother. Hye-yeong takes Yeong-sin back to raise him by herself as she realizes that he is still the precious child that she gave birth to.

Location of Shooting

Most scenes from <Love Me Once Again> were shot in Seoul. The vicinity of Jeongneung Cheongsujang Resort near Mt. Bukhan is the major filming site and where Sin-ho and Hye-yeong's house is located in the movie. Mukho Port in Gangwon Province is where Hye-yeong gives birth to Yeong-sin after leaving Sin-ho. Hye-yeong and Yeong-sin live a happy life there. Their cozy rural house, the tranquil train tracks and the beach on which Yeong-sin plays alone missing his father in Seoul, have now disappeared, but Mukho Lighthouse still stands there.

It has been 40 years since the lighthouse was built in 1963 and there will soon be a monument to record its long history. For the 35 years since the film was shot against the backdrop of the lighthouse, it has never failed to be punctual in turning on and off its lights for operation. The lighthouse remains the same today as it did in the film.

General Information

Mukho Port is in Donghae City, Gangwon Province. Mukho was once called 'Oijin' long ago, but it was renamed 'Mukhojin,' meaning 'a ferry point for Indian ink' as the clean water turned black from the briquette that started to be shipped after the Japanese colonization of Korea in 1910. Opened in 1941, the port, the largest along the Eastern coast at that time, served as a major shipping point for coal and cement produced in the Taebaek area. But its glory faded as Donghae Port opened and shipments through Mukho Port decreased. It has transformed itself into a base for offshore and ocean fishery.

Directions

Go along Yeongdong Highway in the direction of Donghae City, take No. 7 National Highway and turn left at the sign for 'Mukho Port.' For public transportation users, buses run to Donghae City from Gangnam and Dong (East) Seoul Bus Terminals every hour. Also, at Cheongnyangni Station, there's a tourist train everyday departing at night and arriving at dawn so that passengers can see the sunrise on the beach of the East Sea. The train is part of a package tour to Jeongdongjin, another tourist hot spot and Chuam.

Nearby Attractions

Mukho is on the Eastern coast and features a beautiful seashore. There are beautiful beaches like Mangsang Beach and Daejin Beach. Families love to visit the beaches for their wide sand fields. Chuam and "Choddae Baui" (candlestick-shaped rock) stimulate people's curiosity. Into the land of Mukho, such natural beauties as Mureung Valley and Cheongok Natural Cave delight tourists. Shopping seafood at low prices at Mukho Central Market will be another joy on your trip to Mukho as the market sells fresh squid, fish and other seafood caught offshore near Ulleung Island.