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The Surrogate Woman (씨받이), dir. Im Kwon-taek, South Korea 1986, 86 min., Korean with English subtitles, 18
Shin Sang-gyu has a problem: he is the last male heir in his branch of the Shin clan, and despite the close relationship with a beautiful and still young wife, they have no children, no son to carry on the family line. Uncle and grandmother confer and decide to seek out a surrogate from a village of women known for providing such ‘borrowed wombs’. Ong-nyeo, only seventeen, is chosen for the role. When passion carries her and Sang-gyu well outside the limits prescribed by Confucian family duties, the result will prove lethal.
Im Kwon-taek had the confidence and wisdom to make Kang Soo-yeon his Ong-nyeo. The role was the most significant one of her career: it allowed her to shed the image of cheerful, sparky girl/teenager and become the most remarkable actor of the next decade and a half. While the film was not a success at first release, that changed dramatically when the Venice film festival awarded her Best Actress for 1987 – the first international film star of Korea.
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