Joon-kyeong (played by Park Jung-min) is a genius kid living in rural South Korea in the eighties. His particular neighborhood in Northern Gyeongsang province is so obscurely located that in order to use the train service to get to a proper city, people have to walk through train tunnels and over rail bridges. This is terribly dangerous, and people inevitably dying from this motivates Joon-kyeong to spend several years writing letters begging the president to permit construction of a minor rail station.
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“Miracle: Letters to the President” uses this more as backdrop than plot, with the real focus being on character relationships. The story morphs into a romance as Joon-kyeong goes to high school and catches the attention of the bossy, well-to-do Ra-hee (played by Yoona) who is so impressed by Joon-kyeong’s quirkiness that she tries maneuvers him into being her boyfriend. The chronically shy Joon-kyeong desperately but pointlessly tries to keep this a secret from his older sister Bo-kyeong (played by Lee Soo-kyung-I).
While Ra-hee mostly disappears over the latter part of the movie, her character is a great introduction for showcasing the mystery of Joon-kyeong. We can see that the boy is off-putting. Yet he’s a genius with a good heart who just needs to be nudged in the right direction. I liked the bit where Ra-hee somewhat selfishly gives Joon-kyeong the idea to build an early warning system for freight trains, so that people know when to cross even if he’s not around.
“Miracle: Letters to the President” is somewhat romantic about a simpler time and place, though writer/director Lee Jang-hoon-I keeps the story grounded in reality as the very real issue of rural infrastructure looms large in the narrative. Joon-kyeong’s backstory is tragic, yes, but more importantly it was preventable. As a genius with a knack for solving problems, Joon-kyeong is in an excellent position to help build a better world, both for his town as well as South Korea at large.
There’s also a very tender familial dynamic. Lee Soo-kyung-I has powerful presence as the big sister convinced Joon-kyeong is capable of great deeds and that he needs to let go of his past and focus on the future. Lee Sung-min is likewise fantastic as Joon-kyeong’s father, a taciturn train conductor with a personality quite similar to that of his son’s. These two men grapple with their feelings, and even cry, yet are determined to do their best because that’s what the women they love expect of them.
The sentiment in “Miracle: Letters to the President” is fantastic, as are its performances. The music, backdrop, and even the script are likewise excellent. This movie deserves all six of its Blue Dragon Award nominations and many more besides. I’d go so far as to say this is probably the best South Korean film of 2021, barring a big surprise in the next couple of months. It’s well worth the price of admission on Viki too, “Miracle: Letters to the President” being the rare South Korean film to be available in English in a timely manner.
Review by William Schwartz
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“Miracle: Letters to the President” is directed by Lee Jang-hoon-I, and features Park Jung-min, Lee Sung-min, Yoona, Lee Soo-kyung-I, Kim Kang-hoon, Jung Moon-sung. Release date in Korea: 2021/09/15.
William Schwartz
Staff writer. Has been writing articles for HanCinema since 2012, having lived in South Korea since 2011. Started out in Gyeongju, then to Daegu, then to Ansan, then to Yeongju, then to Seoul, lived on the road for HanCinema’s travel diaries series in the summer of 2016, and is currently settled in Anyang. Has good tips for utilizing South Korea’s public bus system. William Schwartz can be contacted via william@hancinema.net. He also has a substack at williamschwartz.substack.com where he discusses the South Korean film industry in broader terms and takes suggestions for future movies to review.
[HanCinema’s Film Review] “Miracle: Letters to the President” (2021/11/06)
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