ZAMEK Culture Centre

Jung-seo has a stable corporate job, is on the verge of buying her own apartment, and marriage seems just around the corner. One might say her “Korean dream” is almost fulfilled. After work, however, she draws webtoons about bloodthirsty vampires, and her imagination drifts not towards stability but towards fantasies of biting people’s necks. Despite this dark escape, Jung-seo knows she still needs to find money for her apartment in the real world. At her fiancé’s suggestion, she visits her father to ask him to repay the child support he has long owed her mother.

Jang Man-min’s feature debut is a family story that, while infused with comedic tones, explores the struggles of the young generation. The characters face dissatisfaction at work and low wages, divorced parents who drag their children into their conflicts, as well as inherited distrust, trauma, and misunderstandings passed down through generations. This complex family puzzle becomes a springboard for bold social commentary and leads to a provocative question: What if one were to abandon it all and surrender to their fantasies?

SILVER APRICOT, dir. Jang Man-min, South Korea 2024, 121’