Good movies can be a vivid window to the lives of others different from us in one way or another, and South Korean independent film “3670” is one of such excellent examples. Closely and sensitively following the personal drama of one young North Korean gay defector, the movie lets us have more understanding and empathy on him, and it is often touching to observe how he gradually becomes more honest about his homosexuality along the story.

At the beginning, we get to know about how Cheol-joon (Cho You-hyun) has tried to settle in the South Korean society since he came over to South Korea several years ago. Along with his two fellow North Korean defectors, he has been preparing for the university scholarship for promising young North Korean defectors like him, and they also have been closely associated with a local church community willing to support them as much as possible.

However, Cheol-joon has something to hide even from his fellow North Korean defectors. After coming to South Korea, he came to realize more that he is gay, and he has tried to search for any possibility of romance or friendship for a while via a certain local online application quite familiar to me (Full Disclosure: I have been using it during last several months). However, most of those gay men on that online application only want sexual fun without much interest in him, and that makes him more isolated and frustrated.

And there comes an opportunity. When he comes across an online notice on a group meeting for blind date and drinking, Cheol-joon decides to take a chance with that, and he soon becomes a bit relieved and happy to be surrounded by a bunch of gay people around his age, though nobody seems to pay much attention to him even after he reveals that he is a North Korean defector. He later sets his eyes on a handsome lad named Hyeon-taek (Cho Dea-hee), but Hyeong-taek turns out to be quite popular around many others, and, to Cheol-joon’s disappointment, he also does not seem to be much interested in Cheol-joon.

However, another possibility of relationship comes to Cheol-joon on the very next day. A guy comes into a local convenient store where Cheol-joon has worked as a part-time employee, and, what do you know, the guy instantly recognizes Cheol-joon as both of them were at that meeting. Although Cheol-joon naturally feels quite awkward to say the least, Yeong-joon (Kim Hyun-mok), who happens to live in the same neighborhood where Cheol-joon lives, suggests that they should spend some time together after Cheol-joon’s worktime is over, and Cheol-joon cannot possibly say no as a lonely person in the desperate need of someone to understand and accept his homosexuality. 

As he spends more time with his unexpected friend, we get to know a bit about Yeong-joon. It is apparent that he does not reveal anything about his homosexuality to his devoted Christian mother, but Yeong-joon wants to enjoy his youthful gay life as much as he can, and Cheol-joon soon goes along with that while coming to befriend more gay friends including Hyeong-taek. At one point, they all go to an underground night club full of young gay people, and Cheol-joon cannot help but feel quite exalted for more freedom and excitement.

Nevertheless, Cheol-joon remains quiet about his homosexuality in front of his fellow North Korean defectors simply because of his fear of repulsion and rejection. Having no idea on Cheol-joon’s homosexuality at all, one of his North Korean defectors tries a bit of matchmaking at one point later in the story, and that leads to a little amusing moment between Cheol-joon and one female North Korean defector.

And he also misses his parents a lot, who are probably still in his North Korean hometown if they are not dead yet. His aunt, who also managed to come over to South Korean just like him, has already given up any hope about them, but Cheol-joon still holds onto any possibility of the reunion with his parents, and there is a brief but poignant moment when he and his aunt have some honest private conversation between them.

 Steadily balancing itself among several different human issues of its specific hero, the movie stays focused on his gradual emotional maturation along the narrative, and Cho You-hyun is often compelling in his nuanced low-key performance. Besides subtly illustrating his character’s inner struggles, Cho is touching whenever his character advances further from his emotional shell, and he is also supported well by several supporting performers who have each own moment to shine. While Kim Hyun-mok is effective as his character comes to show more insecurity and vulnerability later in the movie, Cho Dea-hee has a good moment when his character turns out to be more considerate than expected, and Bae Han-sol, Lim Ji-hyung, and Cha Mi-kyung are also well-cast in their respective supporting roles.

Overall, “3670”, which incidentally comes from a sort of numeral code used among its hero and his gay friends, is another notable South Korean queer film which deserves more attention in my humble opinion, and director/writer Park Joon-ho makes a commendable feature film debut here. As far as I can see from his film, he is a good filmmaker with considerable potential, and it will be interesting to see whether he will impress us more in the future as another interesting South Korean filmmaker to watch.