Made in China

Chinese eel farmer Chen smuggles himself and his eels into South Korea to prove that these fish are safe for consumption. His persistence pays off: after days of waiting, he persuades an inspector to test the eels. Unfortunately, they prove to be contaminated. Charmed by Chen’s honesty and sense of justice – characteristics sadly lacking many men in capitalist South Korea – the inspector enters into a romantic relationship with Chen and gets him a job as a security guard at an eel hatchery. This quickly turns out to be an illegal business where the eels rejected by the inspector are traded.
Director Kim Dong-Hoo examines an issue close to home, ruthlessly exposing the troubled relationship between South Korea and its neighbour China. On the basis of this poignant love story between a poor farmer and a wealthy, capitalist woman, this universal film delivers an intelligent critique of the ideological prejudices of capitalism: in South Korea, but also elsewhere.

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