하제Haje

SYNOPSIS

Haje Village in Gunsan was emptied after thousands of residents were forcibly relocated because of its proximity to a U.S. military ammunition depot. Jinhyeon, who ran ‘Wangnim Supermarket,’ remains steadfastly in the deserted village like a wild chrysanthemum, after all her neighbors have left. Another resident has roots even deeper in Haje: a 600-year-old hackberry tree. As the expansion of the U.S. military base threatens to erase Haje from the map, both Jinhyeon and the tree face being torn from the ground. Peace activist Jungseo and Gunsan resident Gwanghee start a campaign to protect the hackberry tree, while the ancient tree brings to light stories of Haje that had long remained buried. Listening to Jinhyeon, the last resident, and the hackberry tree, the oldest one, filmmaker Yun also seeks out and records Haje’s non-human residents. Amid the bricks of collapsed homes and under the deafening roar of fighter jets, small lives resonate on their own frequencies, singing songs of love. The wasteland transforms into a land of life.