''Day Trip'' () is a 2012 South Korean

short film A short film is any motion picture that is short enough in running time not to be considered a feature film. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences defines a short film as "an original motion picture that has a running time of 40 minutes ...

co-directed by Park Chan-wook and

Park Chan-kyong Park Chan-kyong ( Korean: 박찬경, Hanja: 朴赞景; b. 1965 in Seoul, South Korea) is a South Korean media artist, filmmaker, and arts critic. Park is known for his advocacy of the revival of minjung art in the 90s through both exhibition org ...

. The film features a pansori master (

Song Kang-ho Song Kang-ho (born January 17, 1967) is a South Korean actor. Song made his film debut in ''The Day a Pig Fell into the Well'' (1996), and came to national prominence with a series of critically acclaimed performances, including ''No. 3'' (1997) ...

) and his student (Jeon Hyo-jung). The 18-minute short was released online on December 28, 2012 on the website of outdoor clothing brand Kolon Sport, and was funded by the company to mark its 40th anniversary. This is the second project by the duo dubbed collectively as "PARKing CHANce," composed of film director Park Chan-wook and his brother Park Chan-kyong, who is known for his

installation art Installation art is an artistic genre of three-dimensional works that are often site-specific and designed to transform the perception of a space. Generally, the term is applied to interior spaces, whereas exterior interventions are often called ...

, photography and experimental films. Their previous collaboration ''

Night Fishing Night Fishing may refer to: * ''Night Fishing'' (album), 2008 album of Japanese rock band Sakanaction * ''Night Fishing'' (film), 2011 South Korean short film {{disambig ...

'', shot entirely with an iPhone 4, won Best Short Film at the Berlin International Film Festival in 2011.

Plot

A master (

) and his student (Jeon Hyo-jung) visit a mountain to practice pansori following a music competition that left the trainee disappointed.

Production

The film was shot in four days, and most of the scenes took place at Mount Namsan in

Gyeongju Gyeongju ( ko, 경주, ), historically known as ''Seorabeol'' ( ko, 서라벌, ), is a coastal city in the far southeastern corner of North Gyeongsang Province in South Korea. It is the second largest city by area in the province after Andong, ...

, North Gyeongsang Province. The scenery served as the backdrop for the central pansori performances. Pansori is a genre of

Korean folk music Korea refers to music from the Korean peninsula ranging from prehistoric times to the division of Korea into South and North in 1945. It includes court music, folk music, poetic songs, and religious music used in shamanistic and Buddhist traditi ...

that harbors a range of emotions, including ''

han Han may refer to: Ethnic groups * Han Chinese, or Han People (): the name for the largest ethnic group in China, which also constitutes the world's largest ethnic group. ** Han Taiwanese (): the name for the ethnic group of the Taiwanese p ...

'', repressed bitterness and powerlessness that many say lingers in the Korean people. ''Day Trip'' highlights the traditional music's harmonious nature with the surrounding scenery by featuring a version of '' Sae Taryeong'' ("Song of Birds"). Outdoor clothing brand Kolon Sport had commissioned and funded the short for its 40th anniversary "Way to Nature Film Project." But the short has almost no promotional elements because the company gave the Parks directorial

autonomy In developmental psychology and moral, political, and bioethical philosophy, autonomy, from , ''autonomos'', from αὐτο- ''auto-'' "self" and νόμος ''nomos'', "law", hence when combined understood to mean "one who gives oneself one's ...

. Rather than rendering typical outdoor images, they focused on presenting pansori in harmony with the surrounding nature and civilization. The characters' trip to the mountain appears to be part of a 100-day practice session required for pansori singers in which they train their voices in the unique acoustic setting of the waterfalls, cliffs and caves. They sing so loudly their voices usually go hoarse and their bodies swell until they feel blood in their throats. In recent years, this kind of training may be seen as a way to permanently injure vocal cords, but they pushed themselves in isolation for 100 days believing that the efforts would ultimately makes one's voice suitable for pansori. The short was the debut film for 15-year-old Jeon Hyo-jung. The actress, a pansori major at the National Middle School of Traditional Arts, was selected for the role through a competitive audition. In order to play a man much older than himself, prior to each shoot actor

had to undergo intense make-up sessions under make-up artist Song Jong-hee, who was previously recognized for her work on the film '' Eungyo''.

References

External links

''Day Trip''
at Kolon Sport * * * {{Park Chan-wook Films directed by Park Chan-wook South Korean short films