As I have mentioned before, the "Chunhyangjeon" is one of Korea s most iconic epic stories, and has been adapted more than a dozen times on cinema. Shin Sang-ok s version was one of the first films in color cinemascope in Korean cinema, along with Hong Seong-ki s version of the same story, which also screened the same year, Seong Chun-hyang, Choi Eun-hee, Do Kum-bong, Han Eun-jin, Heo Jang-kang, Hong Seong-ki, Kim Jin-kyu, Lee Hyung-pyo, Lee Ye-chun, Shin Sang-ok
Hyeon-jae (played by Kang Gil-woo) is a mild-mannered botanist. So mild is his manner, that we are first introduced to him walking the street, and rescuing an abandoned potted plant. Hyeon-jae goes back to his shop, and narrates the basics of what kind of plant it is and how he s planning to rescue it. "Plant Cafe, Warmth" then goes on to feature Hyeon-jae assisting customers in vignettes where the condition of plants is related to the condition of people, Little Forest, Plant Cafe, Warmth, Choi Chang-hwan-I, Kang Gil-woo, Kim Woo-kyum, Lee Ga-kyung, Park Soo-yeon, Seo Seok-kyu
In one very brief scene that s easy to miss, Jeong-ah (played by Park Ha-sun) acknowledges that her pregnancy was not planned. Jeong-ah is a professional woman in her thirties and Jeong-ah s job is a crucial part of her personal identity. Being on maternity leave for a year has wrecked Jeong-ah s sense of self. So Jeong-ah struggles to find a means to take care of her infant son while still being able to go to work and interact with the only social life she has, First Child, KIM Jiyoung: Born 1982, Gong Sung-ha, Hur Jung-jae, Oh Dong-min, Park Ha-sun, Seo Seok-kyu
Jae-sik (played by Jin Goo) runs a small time agency where the work, as far as we can tell, involves driving around a bunch of women wearing appropriately festive clothes to promotional events. It s not much of a career but Jae-sik and his women are bound by debt and don t have very many better options. The tone takes a turn for the dark when one of Jae-sik s women dies, and Jae-sik arrives at her home to find Eun-hye (played by Jung Seo-yeon), a little girl who can neither see nor hear, You re so Precious to Me, Jang Hye-jin, Jin Goo, Jung Seo-yeon, Kang Shin-il, Kim Tae-hoon-VII, Kwon Sung-mo, Lee Chang-won, Park Ye-ni