Born in 1979, Eom Yoo-na studied film and theater at Dongguk University in Seoul, began her career as a screenwriter, after supervising the screenplay of "The Chaser" she returned to study and earned a master's degree in screenwriting from the Korea National University of the Arts. Contacted by a friend of hers, Park Eun-kyung, CEO of the production company The Lamp, Eom Yoo-na began working on the script for "A Taxi Dirver", one of the most successful national and international films of 2018. While she was working on an action film to make her directorial debut, her friend proposed that she tell the story of the birth of "MAL-MO-E", the first dictionary of the Korean language.
Critique
Little is still known about Korean history during the colonial period, knowledge of major events sometimes overshadows what happened to those who experienced colonization as ordinary citizens. Few people know that during Japanese colonization, unlike what happened with Chinese colonization previously, the Korean people were oppressed not only physically but also through the prohibition of being able to study and, in the long run, speak the Korean language. In this film, Eom Yoo-na masterfully recounts the importance of Korean roots linked to his dictionary. In a scenographic reconstruction of those years that is nothing short of perfect, and aided by a masterful cast, the director reinvigorates national pride in her own language through a journey through terms and languages that have been lost. In a steady and smooth rhythm, the film builds the Korean dictionary thanks to the representation of the different types of citizens who populated the Korean peninsula in the 40s. An excellent debut film that combines national pride and history without forgetting to entertain the public.
