2026 | Fiction | 28 min. | Kazakhstan
Katya returns to her native village to see her dying mother, who begins speaking Koryo-mar - the language of her childhood that Katya does not understand.
Directors Statement
The film is based on the short story “What Is That Place Called…” by renowned Korean writer Han Din (1931–1993), whose work is closely connected to the fate of the Koryo-saram—the Korean diaspora that remained in Central Asia after the forced deportation from the Russian Far East in 1937. Today, the descendants of those displaced Koreans mostly live in cities. Only the elderly remain in villages, and very few still speak their native language. Under Soviet rule, everything that connected Koreans to their history, national culture, and roots was systematically erased. Before her death, the film’s heroine asks her daughter the most important question of her life: “The place where you are born is called a homeland. But what do you call the place where you die?” Through this question, the film raises profound and painful issues of national identity among Kazakhstani Koreans. The film brings together unique artifacts that illustrate the history of the Koryo-saram: funeral rituals; the myeongjeong – a two-meter-long red satin burial banner bearing the family name and clan of the deceased; traditional hanbok garments; and hand-painted hwatu playing cards, once found in every Koryo-saram household, distinct from those used in Korea today. The audience also hears the disappearing language of Koryo-mar, which differs significantly from modern Korean. These are fragments of a culture that has survived against all odds and is now on the verge of extinction. The film features the rare song “Longing for the Homeland,” an unofficial anthem of Koreans who endured genocide. Its author, poet Jo Myeong-Hui, was executed by Soviet authorities in 1938. Filming took place in an authentic old Korean house built in the first half of the 20th century, located in the village of Ushtobe in the Taldykorgan region – one of the historic centers of Korean settlement in Kazakhstan. “That Place…” is a tribute to the memory and dignity of the Koryo-saram, their resilience, hard work, and courage, and a time capsule preserving a disappearing culture, its traditions, and its language.
Director: Dana Alimjanova
Producers: Elena Kigay and Valentina Kim
Сast: Nadezhda Kim,, Svetlana-Chansi Kim, Valentina Kim, and Evgeniy Kugai
Studio: CIRKINO
