Twelve years have passed since the April 16 Sewol ferry disaster.
For many, the tragedy still lives on as an unhealed wound. Korean cinema has continued to revisit that day with a range of works. Here, we look back at two films that embrace the pain of loss through their own depth and perspective.
The first is Birthday (2019), a quietly devastating film that portrays the empty everyday lives of those left behind with realism and restraint. It follows father Jung-il (Sol Kyung-gu), mother Soon-nam (Jeon Do-yeon), and younger sister Ye-sol (Kim Bo-min), who lost their son and brother Soo-ho (Yoon Chan-young) in the Sewol tragedy.
Working abroad at the time of the accident, Jung-il couldn’t be by his family’s side. As Soo-ho’s birthday approaches, he tries to organize a meaningful gathering with their neighbors. On the surface, Soon-nam seems composed, but she is trapped in unbearable pain, relying on psychiatric medication to get through the day. Ye-sol, too, lives with a deep trauma tied to water and the sea that took her brother. Rather than offering easy comfort, the film observes how each person endures grief in their own way. And when Soo-ho’s birthday finally arrives, the scene of family and neighbors coming together to embrace each other’s wounds delivers a profound, quietly overwhelming solace to viewers.
The second film, The Dream Songs, turns back the clock to depict a day in the lives of bright, beautiful kids before the tragedy. Instead of directly portraying the Sewol disaster, it follows two high schoolers, Semi (Park Hye-soo) and Haeun (Kim Si-eun), as they drift through a dreamlike day on the eve of their school trip.
Their ordinary yet tender day—spent holding feelings they long to share—stands in poignant contrast to the looming catastrophe, amplifying the sorrow. Subtle symbols and metaphors woven throughout quietly yet powerfully summon memories of that day.
On this 12th anniversary, the message these two films leave us is unmistakable: a fervent wish that such a tragedy never happens again, and a reminder that, even as time passes, we must keep remembering and speaking about that day.