Villages under the microclimate
Korea | Film 90min, TV 50min | 4K | Color
Logline
Villages under the microclimate is a story of people who have protected their crops by reading the 'small climate' that is only valid within a radius of a few kilometers. we record the farmers who have physically learned these subtle conditions.
Synopsis
In Hwagae valley of Jirisan mountain, water fog rising from the Seomjingang river climbs the mountain slopes, acting as a natural sunshade and forming a unique microclimate characterized by large daily temperature variations and infrequent frost. For Hong Man-su, tea master, the crisis came even more directly. He learned tea making from his father, later he bought a 100-year-old rock tea field and has been cultivating his own unique rock tea. This year, he faced the worst harvest in history. He said, "I was confident in winning with taste, but no one taught me how to fight against the climate.” He is now standing in an era where the wisdom alone is no longer sufficient.
Director's Statement
If you follow the question, 'Why do tea trees grow naturally only in this valley?', you will hear how a single tree cut down 10 years ago, a road built behind the village 20 years ago, and a few rocks removed to expand farmland changed the path of the fog and the direction of the wind. The idea that microclimate is not massive disaster but rather collapses due to the accumulation of such small interventions, and the image of farmers striving to read the valley's 'small climate' more precisely and seeking ways to live with the microclimate rather than fight against the big climate, will serve as the archetype for this entire series.
Director YANG Jinyong
YANG Jinyong began his career in broadcasting in 2000, and has directed more than 30 television documentaries, focusing on human interest and history. His notable works — The Great Epic of the Korean Peninsula: Tree, The Sword of Fire, and To the Rescue — offer profound insights into time, civilization, and the inner life of humanity.
Producer LEE Mijin
Mijin has been working as a producer/director since 1997. In 2013, she produced Mr. Taylor's House which was selected for Crossing Borders 2011 and ASD 2012. In 2017, she produced Old Marine Boy, A girl and a shipwreck, Boys and bows, Three Returns, Play on, The Last wish, The Last mermaids of Korea. Boys on the hill was screened at DMZ Docs and Vancouver Asian Film Festival in 2024.