Kamgeun's
Mom addresses point blank the prejudice and bias
within Korean society against immigrants and laborers from
third-world countries. Winner of the drama category at the
2007 Asia Pacific Broadcast Union and YWCA's Good Program
Award, the critically acclaimed drama focuses on the
discriminatory glances toward Korsians (a term used for
the offspring of Korean and Asian ethnicity mixture)
through the eyes of a 9-year old boy named Kamgeun, played
by Kim Ji Han. A half Filipino and half-Korean, Kim shared
his painful experience living as an interracial child in
Korea in a highly publicized interview at the same time
that Hines Ward, a Korsian-American football celebrity,
made headlines with his visit to Korea in early 2007.
Director Yoon Ryu Hae (Snow In August) discovered
Kim through the interview footage and immediately cast the
young boy as Kamgeun.
His
real name is Myung Geun, but everybody prefers to call him
by his nickname "Kamgeun" because of his dark
skin tone. Kamgeun is Korsian - half-Korean from his
father (Lee Won Jong) and half-Filipino from his mother.
Unfortunately, his mother abandoned the family when
Kamgeun was very young. Luckily, Kamgeun's father
remarries, offering a glimmer of hope for the little boy.
But the stepmother (Kyun Mi Ri) is extremely conscious of
other people's perceptions, and has a hard time accepting
her mixed-ethnicity son. Sensing this, Kamgeun feels
discouraged and unloved, and behaves as any kid his age
would, covering up his pain by playing a series of nasty
pranks on her. But his misbehavior only brings more
trouble as the stepmother decides to send him off to
Philippines for good. But something holds her back...