K-Number

Director JO Seyoung | Producer KIM Dukjoong | Korea | 108min | 4K | Color

Project Description

Budget

Logline

Mioka, along with Korean helpers, tracks down her birth records to find traces of her parents, but the damaged and falsified documents hinder her search.

Synopsis

Adopted to the U.S. as a child, Mioka repeatedly failed to find her roots. Nearly giving up on finding her parents, she receives new adoption documents with the help of "Banet," a Korean women's group supporting international adoptees. Facing discrepancies in the information, Mioka realizes that her international adoption was part of a "child export" scheme colluded by adoption agencies and the government.

Director's Statement

After the Korean War, over 200,000 Korean children were adopted overseas with a K-Number (an adoption agency's child classification mark). As adults, they return to Korea to find their roots, but the journey is difficult due to incorrect documents and uncooperative government and agencies. This documentary addresses both international adoptees and Koreans, aiming to raise awareness that this is not just "their" problem but an issue for "all of us."

	Focused on humans and non-human animals experiencing marginalization, exclusion, and deprivation, I confront unheard and unseen stories, translating them into documentaries.		Having directed and produced various films, including features and documentaries, my focus is on portraying the intricate relationships and textures between characters and the emotions that arise from them.
Director  JO Seyoung		Producer KIM Dukjoong