''The Surrogate Woman'' (; also known as ''The Surrogate Womb'' or ''The Surrogate Mother'') is a 1986 film directed by

Im Kwon-taek Im Kwon-taek (; born December 8, 1934) is one of South Korea's most renowned film directors. In an active and prolific career, his films have won many domestic and international film festival awards, as well as considerable box-office success, ...

, dealing with the love affair between a rich aristocrat and a poor servant during the

Joseon Dynasty Joseon ( ; ; also romanized as ''Chosun''), officially Great Joseon (), was a dynastic kingdom of Korea that existed for 505 years. It was founded by Taejo of Joseon in July 1392 and replaced by the Korean Empire in October 1897. The kingdom w ...

. The film won multiple accolades at the 1987 Asian Film Festival, including Best Film, Best Director, Best Actress, and Best Supporting Actress. Lead actress Kang Soo-yeon was widely acclaimed in her role as the surrogate mother, for which she won Best Actress at the 1987

Venice Film Festival The Venice Film Festival or Venice International Film Festival (, "International Exhibition of Cinematographic Art of the Venice Biennale") is an annual film festival held in Venice, Italy. It is the world's oldest film festival and one of the ...

Plot

Shin, a nobleman, has been trying to conceive a male heir to continue his family name. Unable to provide a male heir, Shin's wife gives her husband permission to search for a surrogate wife to bear a male

heir Inheritance is the practice of receiving private property, titles, debts, entitlements, privileges, rights, and obligations upon the death of an individual. The rules of inheritance differ among societies and have changed over time. Offi ...

. On the way to finding a surrogate wife, Shin runs into a 17-year-old girl, Ok-nyo ( Kang Soo-yeon). She is a poor, but feisty, girl who states that she will do anything for money. The stubborn nature of Ok-nyo attracts Shin and influences him to choose her to become the mother of his child. Ok-nyo holds the

social status Social status is the relative level of social value a person is considered to possess. Such social value includes respect, honour, honor, assumed competence, and deference. On one hand, social scientists view status as a "reward" for group members ...

of a servant, but the relationship changes both of them through the course of the movie. Ok-nyo has to obey rules which keep her hidden during the day and delegates her to perform the mating ritual during Shins wife's hours of choosing. No matter what is happening, Ok-nyo can not leave the building in which she is housed. With Shin's infatuation and Ok-nyo's attachment, both secretly meet for passionate affairs. Unfortunately both eventually get caught, which causes their separation. Ok-nyo's mother tries to dissuade her, and to break off the relationship, by telling her the realities of life. Even though both are punished for the infraction, they still continue to meet. Eventually Ok-nyo conceives an heir for Shin, but is burdened with not knowing whether Shin will stay by her side or leave with her child forever.

Remake

The film inspired 1989 Malayalam film '' Dasharatham''.

References

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External links

* Films directed by Im Kwon-taek 1980s Korean-language films South Korean drama films Films set in Joseon Teenage pregnancy in film Films about surrogacy 1987 drama films Korean-language drama films {{SouthKorea-film-stub