The Film 'Kim's Drift' About People Who Have Lost Their Way: Where Are You Now? [Joohee Kang's Video Prism]

Questions Needed Now About Communication, Disconnection, and Relationships
Where Will the Drifting People Go?

Still image from the movie 'Kimssi Pyoryugi'./Photo by Naver Movie

[Asia Economy Reporter Kang Joo-hee] ※ There may be spoilers including scenes and descriptions. A man is hanging from the railing of Mapo Bridge in Seoul. After receiving a desperate call demanding repayment of his loan, the man jumps off in despair. However, the place where he opens his eyes is none other than Bamseom, an uninhabited island in the Han River.

Opposite the island, the cityscape with high-rise buildings including the 63 Building unfolds, but Bamseom is a 'disconnected space' where social systems do not operate, despite being in the heart of Seoul.

The man tries to escape from Bamseom. Clutching a phone about to die, he calls 119 (emergency services) and waves vigorously at passing citizens on a cruise boat. However, his rescue requests are repeatedly ignored, mistaken for pranks. Attempts at extreme measures again prove difficult.

The man shouts toward the city, "Can't you really see me!" Yet, no one responds to his cries.

He throws away his credit cards and mobile phone, which have been shackles in his life, and begins to survive on Bamseom. In the middle of the city, separated from society, the man falls asleep feeling a peace he has never experienced before.

While the man builds his own world on the island, a woman is creating her own island in another space. For three years, she has confined herself in a small room, living off canned corn and surrounded by accumulated trash.

The woman's main activity is running a mini homepage on social networking services (SNS). It may be her only way to communicate with the world, but it is not true communication. She hides her true self on SNS, instead presenting another persona adorned with a pretty appearance and luxury goods.

The film Kim's Drift depicts two isolated individuals who refuse to communicate with the world and are trapped in their own worlds. The man is a 'credit delinquent' with about 200 million won in private loans after losing his job, and the woman is a 'reclusive loner' who chose self-imprisonment after being bullied in school due to facial scars.

They are all considered 'failures' from society's perspective, unable to adapt to social systems and pushed aside.

The film critiques why people living in the present era inevitably drift away from society through the stories of these two characters. It also questions where the reality that forces them to live lost originates from.

Still image from the movie 'Kimssi Pyoryugi'./Photo by Naver Movie

◆ Drifting People... Are They Okay Now?

The question posed by the film Kim's Drift remains valid. Although it was released over 10 years ago, those who refuse to communicate with the world and are marginalized still exist.

Terms like 'reclusive loner' who choose a life disconnected from society, and 'NEET' (Not in Education, Employment or Training) who neither work nor intend to work, are no longer unfamiliar. This indicates that phenomena causing social disconnection are occurring all around.

South Korea has never conducted an official survey on the scale of reclusive loners or NEETs, so estimates are only inferred from related studies.

The Korea Labor Institute analyzed raw data from the Statistics Korea's Economically Active Population Survey from January to May this year and found that there are 530,000 young NEETs, accounting for 10.4% of the youth population. If this trend continues, the number of young NEETs is estimated to reach 1,273,000 this year.

More than half of young job seekers have experienced being a 'reclusive loner.' In a survey conducted last November by Saramin targeting 2,321 job seekers, 59.8% responded that they had experience as a reclusive loner, exceeding half. The proportion who still consider themselves reclusive loners was also significant at 42.4%.

Experts emphasize that issues of communication disconnection, such as reclusive loners and NEETs, should be recognized as structural social problems.

Professor Kwak Geum-ju of Seoul National University's Department of Psychology stated, "With no improvement in employment difficulties and worsening economic conditions, people's psychological helplessness has deepened. The social perception that labels them as losers and failures must also improve. Above all, the state must prioritize identifying and assessing their current status."

Still image from the movie 'Kim's Drift'./Photo by Naver Movie

◆ That Man, That Woman... Where Are They Headed?

In Kim's Drift, the man and woman isolated in their own worlds are fatefully connected one day. The man's image is captured through the woman's camera viewfinder. The woman, who kept repeating "If no one is there, I'm not lonely," discovers the man alone on Bamseom on a day when everything in the city temporarily stops due to civil defense training.

The woman's routine gradually shifts from managing SNS to observing the man's daily life. The two communicate through letters in wine bottles and writings on the sand. Finally, the woman decides to overcome the fence that has confined her to meet the man.

At the film's end, after many twists and turns, the two meet for the first time and hold hands. The woman quietly asks the man, "My name is Kim Jeong-yeon. Who are you?"

At this point, the film shows how communication and relationships can bring changes to a person's life. Perhaps these two never truly wanted to live isolated lives.

Although the film chooses a lighthearted way to depict a heavy subject, the ending leaves a bittersweet aftertaste. It does not show how they will endure the many real-world challenges ahead. The audience cannot know their future. However, they do know that the world that forced them to hide will continue. The reality remains a significant issue that our society must still resolve.