Made in Korea – Made in Korea: A One-Way Ticket Seoul-Amsterdam? (2006)

Directed by: In-Soo Radstake | 73 minutes | documentary | With: In-Soo Radstake, Ungila van Es, Kyki Janssen, Stephanie van Duin, Kim Schuurman, Hyun Dorland, Molly Holt

‘Made in Korea: A One-Way Ticket Seoul-Amsterdam?’ is an ego documentary by the Dutch Korean In-Soo Radstake. He filmed the search for his biological mother by whom he was abandoned in 1979 in Seoul. Radstake also sought an answer to the question of who or what he really is: Korean or Dutchman?

Radstake took a serious risk with the filming of his own quest. Of all documentary forms, the ego documentary is the easiest to miss. The maker often forgets to elevate his concrete troubles to a more general problem; more often, the minimum distance to the subject ensures that there is no question of any objectivity. Moreover, many of those documentaries are drowned in self-pity and sentimentality. On the latter, Radstake remains on the right side of the line, albeit on the edge. The young filmmaker sometimes forgets that emotions hit harder when they are indirect rather than imposed. When Radstake bursts out sobbing after colliding with a Korean official, the viewer feels nothing but embarrassment. Much more emotion evokes the looks of girlfriend Ungila, the kind words of father Radstake or the nervousness of In-Soo just before his television appearance. Though his own story takes center stage, Radstake rarely lapses into navel-gazing. Especially in the beginning, during conversations with Korean fellow sufferers, some useful things are said about the problems of uprooted compatriots. Later in the documentary we also get to hear the other side of the story. That many Koreans in the 1970s were too poor to raise a child. That it is dangerous for remarried Korean women to meet a child they once gave up. They run the risk of being rejected by their new in-laws, with all the consequences that entails.

Despite the serious subject matter, the film is very entertaining at times. In order to obtain information, the amiable filmmaker and his entourage sometimes resort to some naughty tricks. It makes for some funny scenes. The ever-emerging language problems also provide some cheerfulness. This makes ‘Made in Korea: A One-Way Ticket Seoul-Amsterdam?’ an ego documentary that should appeal to a wide audience. Despite the chewed-up subject and the sentiment that is sometimes a bit too thick, the 73 minutes fly by. In short, a good film, despite the remarkably ugly title.