CSI alumnus, Eric Junghwan Park has made his feature film directorial debut with Life of Hae-Oak. The film had its world premiere at the 48th Seoul Independent Film Festival, where it was an Official Selection in the New Choice Competition. It will be distributed at the end of 2022 by Triple Pictures, which recently released Ryusuke Hamaguchi's Drive My Car in South Korea.
The film focuses on Lee Ra-El, a student studying for a civil service exam while working part-time at an all-you-can-eat restaurant. Ra-El is pushed to her limits when she is repeatedly forced to meet the demands of an ill-mannered customer. The film explores a generation that is still haunted by the 1997 Asian Financial Crisis.
Eric graduated from the University of Toronto double majoring in Cinema Studies and Psychology. He was born in South Korea and raised in Canada. His short film, The Flight screened at the 2013 Toronto Korean Film Festival where it won the Audience Choice award.
Congratulations, Eric!