The Surrogate Woman

The Surrogate Woman (Korean: 씨받이; RR: Ssibaji; also known as The Surrogate Womb or The Surrogate Mother) is a 1986 film directed by Im Kwon-taek, dealing with the love affair between a rich aristocrat and a poor servant during the Joseon Dynasty.

The Surrogate Woman
Theatrical poster to The Surrogate Woman
Hangul씨받이
Revised RomanizationSibaji
McCune–ReischauerSsibaji
Directed byIm Kwon-taek
Produced byJeong Do-hwan
StarringKang Soo-yeon
Lee Gu-sun
Yun Yang-ha
Music byShin Pyong-ha
CinematographyKu Jung-mo
Edited byPark Sun-duk
Distributed byShin Han Films
Release date
  • 21 March 1987 (1987-03-21)
Running time
100 minutes
CountrySouth Korea
LanguageKorean

The film won multiple accolades at the 1987 Asian Film Festival, including Best Film, Best Director, Best Actress, and Best Supporting Actress. Lead actress Kang Soo-yeon was widely acclaimed in her role as the surrogate mother, for which she won Best Actress at the 1987 Venice Film Festival.

Plot

Shin, a nobleman, has been trying to conceive a male heir to continue his family name. Unable to provide a male heir, Shin's wife gives her husband permission to search for a surrogate wife to bear a male heir. On the way to finding a surrogate wife, Shin runs into a 17-year-old girl, Ok-nyo (Kang Soo-yeon). She is a poor, but feisty, girl who states that she will do anything for money. The stubborn nature of Ok-nyo attracts Shin and influences him to choose her to become the mother of his child. Ok-nyo holds the social status of a servant, but the relationship changes both of them through the course of the movie. Ok-nyo has to obey rules which keep her hidden during the day and delegates her to perform the mating ritual during Shins wife's hours of choosing. No matter what is happening, Ok-nyo can not leave the building in which she is housed. With Shin's infatuation and Ok-nyo's attachment, both secretly meet for passionate affairs. Unfortunately both eventually get caught, which causes their separation. Ok-nyo's mother tries to dissuade her, and to break off the relationship, by telling her the realities of life. Even though both are punished for the infraction, they still continue to meet. Eventually Ok-nyo conceives an heir for Shin, but is burdened with not knowing whether Shin will stay by her side or leave with her child forever.

Remake

The film inspired 1989 Malayalam film Dasharatham.

References
  • Cho, Eunsun (2002). "The Female Body and Enunciation in Adada and Surrogate Mother". In James, David E. & Kim Kyung-hyun (ed.). Im Kwon-Taek: The Making of a Korean National Cinema. Detroit: Wayne State University Press. pp. 84–106. ISBN 0-8143-2869-5.
  • "Contemporary Korean Film: The Surrogate Woman". Asian Media Access. 2000. Archived from the original on 20 October 2000. Retrieved 20 November 2007. External link in |publisher= (help)
  • "Im Kwon-taek's Retrospective". 5th Festival of Korean Cinema in Italy. 2007. Retrieved 31 October 2007. External link in |publisher= (help)
  • Fountain, Clarke. "Sibaji". Allmovie. Retrieved 25 October 2007.
  • "Surrogate Mother (Movie review)". TimeOut London. 2007. Archived from the original on 29 September 2007. Retrieved 20 November 2007. External link in |publisher= (help)
  • The Surrogate Woman at IMDb


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