<A Teacher in an Island>

Director : Kim Ki-Deok
Starring : Oh Young-il, Moon hee, Kim Hee-gap, Ahn In-suk
Location Sites : Daeijak-do, Jawol-myeon, Onjin-gun, Incheon

Film Information

<A Teacher in an Island> (Seommaeul Seonsaeng), directed by Kim Gideok, attracted much interest, using the popular hit song by Lee Mija for its title and for its theme music. The film was even advertised with the phrase 'The sweet melody of the song, A Teacher in an Island (Seommaeul Seonsaeng), which has swept the whole country, is finally made into a movie.' It reflects society at that time, dealing with the conflicts between urban and rural during the Vietnam War, the enlightenment of the farmers, and the contrast between a sophisticated city slicker and a girl on a remote, isolated island.




Synopsis

The city guy, Oh Yeongil, who has returned from Vietnam, heads for the isolated island. The story follows the urbane Oh who tries to enlighten the villagers as a teacher and a doctor. The message of enlightenment melts into a tug-of-war love story among between Oh, a girl on the island (Munhi, who respects and loves him), Oh's fiancee, and a faithful and straightforward guy on the island.

Location of Shooting

The main shooting site for the movie, Gyenam Branch School, is located by a 40-minute walk or a 10-minute vehicle ride from the wharf. The closed, one-classroom school, now owned by a private individual, stands side by side with the teacher's house that only has one room and a kitchen. There stands a pine tree called 'Munhi Pine Tree' overlooking the wharf. In the last scene of the movie, Munhi stands against the tree, desperately watching as the bachelor teacher leaves for the city.

General Information

The island is located 44km from Incheon and 200m west from Soijak-do. It's a small island with an area of 2.57km2, coastline of 18km and a population of 158 people (at the end of 2001) but has many unexplored regions such as clean water, a sand beach and a thick forest of black pine tree. In particular, you can walk on the sand desert which reveals itself at low tide and quietly enjoy fishing. The islanders are generous because it is not widely known. The islanders have been trying to make their island known as the film location for a "A Teacher in an Island (Seommaeul Seonsaeng)" and thanks to their efforts, the island has been featured in several media outlets.

Directions

By cruise ferry from Incheon Terminal

Nearby Attractions

Mt. Bua - A mountain which looks like a mother placing a baby on her back. A 700m climb up from the wharf passing 'Keunmal' leads you to the peak of the mountain. You can overlook the whole of Incheon's downtown area from there. It is used as an 'M.T.' (membership training) site by many students and office workers for there are many kinds of sports equipment. In addition, mountain vegetables such as Lodonopsis lanceolala, Solomon's seal and balloon flower abound.

The Big-puran Beach, The Small-puran Beach - The clear and quiet sand beach attracts family vacationers. You can always enjoy swimming because there is not a large difference between the tides. You can catch shellfish, octopus and crab during low tide.