Released in April 2022, Our Blues received an enthusiastic reception from the audience. In addition to its gentle, profound content and fresh yet extremely realistic storytelling, the film also received a shower of compliments because the setting of Jeju Island was depicted as beautiful as a painting.
There is a very poetic Jeju
Our Blues tells the story of 14 lives with joys and sorrows, tragedies and happiness, failures and hopes, but above all, the warm feelings between people. In one way or another, the characters are all connected through a special place - Jeju Island.
In the minds of many people, Jeju is a tourist island with beautiful natural landscapes of mountains, forests, oceans... Our Blues also recreates a peaceful Jeju like that, but then goes straight into the depths of the lives of the people and communities here through very ordinary stories.
In each frame, viewers encounter windy coastal roads, fishing boats offshore, bustling morning markets and innocent, hard-working locals. They are the elderly who have spent their whole lives on the remote island, the middle-aged generation who grew up together, and the young children passionate about their dreams. There are also those who left to start a business and those who came from far away to find peace on the small island. No matter who they are, for them, Jeju is still home, a place that gently soothes their wounds and soothes their aching hearts.
Talking about the reason for choosing this island as the setting for the film, screenwriter Noh Hee Kyung shared: "I believe that Jeju is a place that still retains the local spirit and emotional values typical of Korea. Here, you can find residential areas where almost everyone is related by blood, or if not, they are as close as a family. The closeness between people in Jeju is a great material for us to portray this special culture."
Indeed, unlike the modernized life in mainland cities, Jeju Island still retains its traditional breath, the indigenous culture that was thought to have been swallowed up by the urbanization process over time. The people here promote a communal lifestyle and even use a rather distinctive dialect. Therefore, to accurately convey the spirit of life on the island, the film crew had to invest a lot of time to research and recreate this culture in the most authentic way.
In addition, the connection between community members is also clearly conveyed through the relationships of the characters. We see there the memories of the youth of the middle-aged generation such as Eun-Hee and Han-Soo, the close brotherly love between the fathers of In-Gwon and Ho-Sik, the budding love between captain Jung-Joon and the girl from Seoul Young-Ok, or the complicated family relationship between Dong-Seok and his mother... Each episode revolves around the relationship between 2 of the 14 characters, while also interweaving small stories of the remaining people. This special way of storytelling gives viewers an insight into the close-knit community life here - where everyone has their own worries but they are never left alone.
Where the simple working life flows
Our Blues is not only an entertaining TV series but also a miniature picture of the working life of people in Jeju. Born and raised on a remote island, facing the sometimes gentle, sometimes fierce sea and sudden storms, Jeju people are known for their tough and strong character. They are hard-working, optimistic and highly value their reputation.
Capturing that spirit, Our Blues skillfully depicts the character of working people. There, we see the sea women (also known ashaenyeo) go out to sea every day to catch abalone and sea urchins. Most of them are elderly women, some are even close to 80 years old, but their diving skills are not inferior to any young person. They do not even use oxygen tanks. The image of the Hainanese women in Jeju has become a symbol, a unique beauty recognized by UNESCO as an Intangible Cultural Heritage of the world in 2016. Therefore, they are highly respected by the community.
Nowadays, not many people choose to pursue this job because of its dangerous nature, forcing the local government to offer special support benefits to preserve this unique tradition. In Our Blues, in addition to older haenyeos like Chun-Hui, we also see the appearance of younger faces like Hye-Jung and Yeong-Ok. They are representatives of the younger generation that is gradually inheriting this traditional profession in Jeju.
With abundant marine resources, Jeju’s seafood markets are bustling with an abundance of fresh ingredients and food. Eun-Hee and Jung-Joon are the representatives of the small traders here. Their daily lives start early in the morning, going to the wholesale markets to bid for the freshest seafood from newly arrived fishing boats, and finally transporting them back to the market and selling them to retail buyers.
Meanwhile, Dong-Seok is a grocery seller on a truck. Due to the location completely separated from the mainland, the supply of goods such as clothes, household items... in some areas of Jeju is not much. Every day, Dong-Seok imports goods from the mainland and transports them to remote areas to sell to the people there. His life revolves around an old truck, but it brings comfort to the people of Jeju.
The film also depicts the lives of other workers such as Ho-Sik who sells ice to seafood vendors, In-Gwon who runs a sausage shop serving diners at the market, those who left Jeju to build a new life in the city like Han-Soo, and those who came to the island from other places to heal their wounds like Yeong-Ok. They are all pieces that create a colorful picture of people and life on the beautiful island.
Not bustling, noisy, nor flashy or sophisticated, Jeju's appeal comes from the simplicity, rusticity and genuineness of life here against the backdrop of vast, poetic nature. And there, the stories told in Our Blues resonate to create a warm, human-filled harmony.
Our Blues airs every Saturday and Sunday on Netflix from April 9, 2022. The series lasts 20 episodes, each episode is 70 minutes long.
