Naming MAUM
Korea | Film 70min | 4K | Color
Logline
Maïté, a second-generation Korean adoptee raised in silence by a mother illegally adopted from Korea, inherited a Vietnamese name. Naming herself MAUM, she resolves to one day walk into the country her mother turned away from, holding her mother's hand.
Synopsis
Maïté arrives first in the country her mother could never return to. Illegally adopted out of Korea, her mother spent a lifetime looking away, and Korea was never once discussed at the family table. All Maïté inherited was a Vietnamese name and an unexplained silence. She picks up a camera and travels to Korea to write her family's unrecorded history, naming herself MAUM. As her siblings set foot on Korean soil for the first time, the family closes in, one by one, on the door her mother shut. Maïté is not in a hurry — she simply won't stop.
Director's Statement
Maïté is not among those directly wronged by illegal adoption — she is the daughter of an adoptee, who inherited her mother's silence in the form of a Vietnamese name. This is one person's story, yet it mirrors the confusion shared by hundreds of thousands of adoptees' children. Through Maïté, we confront head-on a question Korea has long looked away from: who gets to assign an identity, and who gets to reclaim one?
Director LEE Joowon
A documentary director highlighting personal voices within social issues such as disasters and international adoption. Winner of the New Perspective Award at EIDF Young Pitch 2025.
Producer PARK Yongjoo
A writer and producer crafting documentaries on diverse social topics, including human rights and disasters. Winner of the New Perspective Award at EIDF Young Pitch 2025.