Park Hwa-young

Eighteen-year-old high school student Park Hwa-young lives alone, without family. She offers her home as a hangout to her friends, who begin to call her "mom." But even though they are always at her house, Hwa-young is not quite part of the group. One of Hwa-young's friends is the town'sUlzzang (beauty), Mijeong. She is often absent from school, claiming to be working as a child actress. With her boyfriend Yeongjae watching her back, she is a queen among friends. Yeongjae hates it when Mijeong hangs out with Hwa-young though, Hwa-young is always waiting for her at home. Then one day, Yeongjae finds out that Mijeong slept with another man at Hwa-young's house. Blaming Hwa-young, he becomes violent. That night, Mijeong asks Hwa-young to become her real "mom." There are many films today about runaway teenager families, but Park Hwa-young tells a different story. Hwa-young's unconditional love toward Mijeong and her desire to become a mom after her own mother abandons her become more and more plaintive as her bravado increases. (Busan International Film Festival)