Movies Similar to Weeds

Island of Time(2015)

A pensive man visits an empty house. A neighbor tells him the house is haunted but he ignores it. Park Jinseong's second feature that takes place in Jeju Island gazes into the pain of life.

Vote Young Ones(2021)

Diving Women of Jeju-do(2007)

Jeju-do is the largest of Korean islands and lies between Korea and Japan. There, for hundreds of years, women dive without breathing apparatus, to the ocean floor and collect shellfish, octopus, and urchins that they sell. The divers are in their sixties and seventies and their daughters do not want to inherit their work, lifestyle, and health problems that go with diving. As a filmmaker I was privileged to meet many of these women and dive with them. Their stories of hardship and pride confirmed my desire to record this unique and ancient tradition.

Ieoh Island(1977)

A company hopes to open a spa hotel named after Ieodo, a mythical island inhabited by the souls of drowned sailors. During a study trip to the proposed location of the hotel, a journalist disappears under mysterious circumstances. One of the contractors goes to Ieodo's neighboring island, populated by widows of the dead sailors, to unravel the mystery.

Love Wind Love Song(1999)

A Seoul businessman comes to Jeju Island and meets a lonely tour guide.

WAVE(2019)

Second-generation migrant worker, Soo is released after receiving probation and community service sentence for his use of violence. Along with his friend Pil-sung, he ends up working as brokers for illegal migrant workers. While fulfilling his community service duty, he meets surfers. Soo falls in love with surfing as the surfers Ddong-ggo and Hae-na teach him how to surf.

Lump of Sugar(2006)

The daughter of a poor rancher, Si-eun's only hope is to one day, become a jockey. With her mother passing away at her birth, her favorite horse, Chun-doong, has become not only her friend, but also a soul mate. She is devastated when Chun-doong is sold to another owner, but when they are reunited two years later they have a chance to create a miracle by teaming up in a race.

Daughter of the Sea(2023)

Battling deep depression, Jaeyoun returns to her roots on the island of Marano, South Korea, to visit her family of female free fivers known as haenyeo. To her surprise, she finds a connection to nature and her ancestors that literally saves her life.

Canola(2016)

A girl who went missing after an accident returns 10 years later and reunites with her grandmother.

Detour(2016)

Three friends from college are now on the brink of turning 40. To attend a funeral on Jeju Island, they go on an unexpected trip as a getaway and wind up at a guest house, where water shimmers, wind blows, and pretty women are seductive, inviting the trio back to their 20s.

Jam Docu GangJeong(2011)

Gangjeong Village, located at the southernmost part of Jeju Island's Seogwipo City, is in the true sense a 'breathtaking land of water.' In this film, eight directors independently yet collaboratively orchestrate a clever and humorous "mission" at this place where the groundwork for building a naval military base is in progress.

Breathing Underwater(2016)

In Jeju Province, located off the southern coast of Korea, are the women of the sea, those who hold breath for life. These women still exist and they still dive the old way, without tanks. They go into the waters of 10- to 20-meter depth to harvest seaweed and shellfish to make a living. They make a living in the same sea, but each haenyeo’s sea of life is different. The community is divided into three tiers- Group A, B and C, based on skills and capabilities. One’s rank is determined by sum or breath. Sum, is pre-determined at birth. Therefore, sum is desired. However, the ocean is harsh. May you desire! But seek what is not yours, the ocean will devour you. Life, for these women of the sea, is about holding one’s breath, and containing and controlling one’s desire. The film is a six year record of the lives of the haenyeos in Udo, an islet in the province of Jeju, known to be the birthplace of haenyeo. It is a close look into the lives that stand on the boundary of life and death.

The Uprising(1999)

In the late 19th century Catholicism was gaining a foothold on Jeju island, much to the horror of the Confucian community, who were seeing their influence diminishing as well as getting increased taxes from Catholic-friendly government officers. The conflict became a religious war that resulted in a rebel Confucian army massacring hundreds of Christians in little more than a matter of days. The Uprising details the events leading up to the assault, focusing on the story of Yi Jae-su, the young man destined to become the leader of the rebel army.

Until the Stones Speak(2024)

There are five grandmothers, four of whom went to Jeonju Prison due to the Jeju 4.3. All of them were young people around the age of 20 at the time of the incident in 1948. The outline of the incident is formed when hearing the experiences of those who were sent to prison without trial particularly as women. The audience feels indescribable emotions by the fact that they have lived on despite what they had gone through, things that are just too much for a human being to bear.

Sisters on the Road(2009)

The sudden death of her mother brings Myung-eun back home to Jeju island. There she meets her estranged sister Myung-ju and Myung-ju's daughter Seung-ah, still living at their old home, and Hyun-ah who has lived with them for over 20 years like a relative. A career woman whose hard exterior masks her illegitimacy and abandonment issues, Myung-eun tells Hyun-ah she wants to start looking for her father after the funeral. Single-minded in her desire to dig up memories of her father and discover why he left, Myung-eun resents that Myung-ju, who like their mother is a carefree fish trader and an unmarried mother of a young daughter, seemingly doesn't care. At first Myung-ju is reluctant to accompany Myung-eun, but after Hyun-ah persuades her, guilt and her sense of duty as an older sibling prevails. And so the two sisters who are dissimilar in character...

The Ghosts of Jeju(2013)

Documentary about the struggle of the people of Jeju Island, South Korea. Set in the context of the U.S. presence in Korea after World War II, the film reveals horrible atrocities at the hands of the U.S. Military Government of Korea.

Outrage Coda(2017)

Five years after the all-out war between the Sanno and Hanabishi crime families, former yakuza boss Otomo works in South Korea for Mr. Chang, a noted fixer. When tensions rise between Chang and the Hanabishi, and Chang's life is endangered, Otomo returns to Japan to settle things once and for all.

Moonfishing in Aewol(2019)

A man on a bike trip across the country gets killed in an accident. His lover, So-wol, moves to the island where he died and settles down. 3 years later, the couple’s close friend, Cheol, pays her a surprise visit. Staying at her place, he goes fishing or ventures out looking for a particular lighthouse. Slowly, without knowing, the seemingly mundane daily life of island mends their broken heart.

My Name is

My Heart Puppy(2023)

Min-soo is about to get married when his fiancée suddenly admits that she is allergic to dogs. Now the guy's best friend, the golden retriever Rooney, needs a new family. With the help of his cousin and social media, Min-soo starts looking for a new home for Rooney.