Anyang, Paradise City

During the Olympic Games in Seoul in 1988, 22 female workers were killed in a fire in Anyang. They were locked in a dormitory by their boss and were like rats in a trap. Hardly anyone remembers this event.
But also the glorious past of Anyang (a Buddhist term for ‘Paradise’) is not commemorated by many. A thousand years ago there was an enormous temple at Anyang. During his investigation into Buddhism and the history of Anyang, Park follows the temple excavations, searches for the 500-year-old ‘grandma tree’ and listens to what the stones can tell us. The future puts in an appearance in the form of mayoral elections.
This first full-length feature by the visual artist Park was made for the community of Anyang and commissioned by the city itself. He travels back and forth between paradise and hell, with the quest forming part of the film: the camera hunts, rests, plays and dances with the city.