Synopsis

In the early 1940s when the Korean language was banned from schools and at risk of disappearing, two men of very different backgrounds set out to publish a Korean dictionary. Ryoo Jung-hwan, an academic from a wealthy pro-Japanese family, is secretly compiling a dictionary at the Korean Language Society. Folksy ex-convict Kim Pan-soo can’t read or write, but his street smarts may be just what’s needed to get the job done – if the Japanese colonial government doesn’t get to them first. A Taxi Driver screenwriter Eom Yu-na makes her directorial debut with this uncommon story of resistance that balances history, heroics, heart and humor to illustrate the great significance of language to a people and a nation.