Review

Many films have been made about defectors from North Korea over the years, but examples focusing on gay defectors have been rare. Cheoljun, the protagonist of 3670, senses only that he is different from others while living in North Korea. It is only when he arrives in South Korea that he becomes aware of his identity. Given the prevalence of prejudice in South Korean society, this story might conjure images of a young man's hardships living as an outsider among outsiders. But as the story of a gay "Generation Z" defector born in 1997, the film adopts an approach that focuses less on societal oppression and discrimination, concentrating exclusively on Cheoljun's experiences alternating between the two communities he is part of: a North Korean defectors' association and the gay gathering that he is taking part in for the first time. Cheoljun distances himself from the defectors' association, where he worries that his sexual identity will not be understood, and tries to adopt the gay community—specifically an association for gay people born in 1997—as his true reference group. But the situation is not so simple. Within this storyline, 3670 weaves delicate glimpses of daily lives in the communities of North Korean defectors and gay people in South Korea, adopting elements of melodrama as it shows communities and individuals in collision. It also boasts exceptional interplay by Cho Youhyun, who plays the central role of Cheoljun, and Kim Hyeonmok, who takes on the part of Yeongjun. Viewers who find themselves humming the words "like a merry-go-round" from Sokodomo's song "Merry-Go-Round" as they leave the theater may have already taken Yeongjun's side in rooting for his future. (MOON Seok)

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