PiNaY In KoReA

South Korea has been home to thousands of foreign migrant workers since the early 90’s when the country first became a major player in the world market. To some of these overseas workers, this country has brought them wealth and success and to others, hardships and struggles, and sometimes, death.

The new Korean indie film “Bandobhi” (“female friend” in Bengali) focuses on the issues currently faced by these so-called 3D foreign workers of Korea. 3D stands for Dirty, Dangerous, and Demeaning. The film tackles issues about foreign worker’s welfare, racism, teenage rebellion among others.

The film revolves around the lives of Karim, a Bangladesh migrant worker in Korea who has been subjected to illegal employment practices by his former boss and who also owes him a year’s worth of salary, and Min-Seo, a teenage girl rebellious to her family and does some illegal part-time schemes to raise money for her English cram school education. Their unlikely friendship and their adventures and misadventures are the film’s main storyline.

The movie stars Mahbub Alam Pollob (Karim), a Migrant Workers Union activist and part-time actor, and Baek Jin-Hee (Min-Seo), an up and coming teenage star in Korea. Directed by Shin Dong-il, known as the Korean Woody Allen in the Berlin International Film Festival, the movie opened in select theaters in Korea on June 25.

—Scenes from the movie “Bandhobi”—