Korea’s student movement of the 1980s generated an intense anti-Americanism that spread to mainstream Korean society in the 1990s. The question of why Korean women continued to marry American GIs despite this national sentiment, and what their lives were like thereafter, is the starting point of Director LEE Ho-sup’s documentary . Ajuma is a former prostitute, now living in New Jersey, who married into the American military. From the moment the director arrives at Ajuma�...more

Korea’s student movement of the 1980s generated an intense anti-Americanism that spread to mainstream Korean society in the 1990s. The question of why Korean women continued to marry American GIs despite this national sentiment, and what their lives were like thereafter, is the starting point of Director LEE Ho-sup’s documentary . Ajuma is a former prostitute, now living in New Jersey, who married into the American military. From the moment the director arrives at Ajuma’s home for the first interview to the last taping, the conflicts between director and subject threaten to undermine the project. Most former prostitutes have difficulty “coming out” with revelations about their former occupation, and Ajuma is no exception. Despite her initial agreement, LEE sees that telling Ajuma’s story is not the straightforward project it appeared to be, with Ajuma sometimes refusing to participate. Moreover, LEE finds that he has to confront his own demons. What results is a story that is told in new and unexpected ways.less