New feature film on Sewol ferry sinking opens next year

The tragic sinking of the Sewol ferry in 2014 gets another look through the film “Sea Tiger” (direct translation) slated to open in the first half of next year.

A decade has passed since the disaster, which claimed nearly 300 lives, most of them high school students on a field trip, and there have been several movies — mostly documentaries — made on the tragedy.

"Sea Tiger" revolves around a diver, Kim Gwan-hong, who took part in the search and rescue operation in the waters off Jindo, South Jeolla Province, that quickly turned into a search and recovery operation. The 43-year-old diver was discovered dead in his home in 2016.

“I wanted to deliver the message that victims of the Sewol ferry sinking include not only the bereaved families but the civilian divers (non-military divers), too. Through this movie, I meant to establish a social consensus on how civilians had to endure severe pain and burdens," director Jung said via the 416 Foundation.

The film was selected to be coproduced with the foundation following a 2021 competition for cultural content related to the Sewol ferry sinking. The 416 Foundation is a nonprofit organization established in 2017 comprised of an alliance of bereaved families and citizens.

The movie used a theater play format to minimize the production cost and was filmed inside an indoor set.

The foundation said it would raise the money needed for distribution and marketing via social funding.

“Sea Tiger” is one of just a few feature films on the Sewol ferry sinking, most likely because this genre requires a careful and sensitive approach to dramatizing the real-life disaster.

The 2019 film “Birthday,” the first feature film with the Sewol ferry disaster at its center, starring Cannes-winning actress Jeon Do-yeon and actor Sol Kyung-gu, depicts a family's struggle to cope after losing a loved one in the manmade disaster.

Other feature films on the Sewol tragedy include “When We Bloom Again,” which opened in local theaters in May. The movie is told from two different points of view. A grieving father, Byung-ho (Park Won-sang), who lost his daughter in the Sewol ferry incident tries to piece together his lost memories. His wife, Su-hyun (Woo Mi-hwa), who is exhausted and listless after her daughter's death, endeavors to pull herself together.