Mi-sung-Li is a rural village famous for rice and apples.
To buy anything, I have to go into town.
It takes close to an hour to go and come back.
KIM TAE-RI
I came down to my childhood home from Seoul 3 months ago at winter.
LITTLE FOREST
WINTER
When it's cold, I crave dough soup.
The dough must sit for 2 hours. Perfect time to clean the snow.
Jae-ha?
One sip of dough soup when I'm freezing...
There is no more rice or flour left.
I have to go into town or report to my aunt.
Or I could starve.
I don't want anyone to know that I'm here.
Song Hae-won!
When did you come down? Why didn't you call!
I was going to after chopping firewood.
Don't lie.
You should've called right away.
I'll fall!
Welcome home.
I missed you.
But why'd you come? Did you pass the exam?
Why didn't you call me first!
Did your boyfriend pass?
Well, ah...
Some friends hit you where it hurts.
Eun-sook is like that.
I get it.
You failed and he passed, huh.
It hurts your pride so you came to hide?
You did that before too!
- When you did bad on your tests. - Stop!
You kept quiet to yourself.
That's why you came, right?
No. I came because I'm hungry.
Not because you're jealous?
I'm really hungry.
What?
Should we call Jae-ha over?
Jae-ha?
How long has he been back?
Jae-ha went to a university nearby and got a job right away.
Since I went to school in Seoul, we naturally lost touch.
He helped his parents farm and started a small orchard.
Number 12, please!
Eun-sook graduated from college and got a job at the bank in town.
Since she's never lived away, she complains how boring it is here.
Her dream is to escape here and live in the city.
I worked and studied for the teacher certification exam.
My life in Seoul was stifling too.
Instant food didn't fill me up.
I meant it when I said. I came back because I'm hungry.
Thanks for the food!
HOON
Hae-won, I passed the exam.
I don't know how you did, so I can't really be happy.
Call me. I'll be waiting.
Who is it?
Wild boars come around this time of year.
Doesn't the elk cry like humans?
Sounds like a crazy woman crying.
Stop it, Mommy! Please!
AUNT BOK-SOON
What are you doing here?
Aunt Bok-soon?
How'd you know I came?
There's smoke coming off your chimney.
I thought your mom was back.
How've you been?
Has Mom been by here?
I wouldn't know. I don't come by every day.
She's not one to come and say she's back.
Do you keep in touch?
Oh dear.
You're just like her.
What?
I thought your mom was odd. You're unique too.
You're so much like her.
Of course, she's dad's sister.
Come have breakfast and take some food.
It's okay. I'm not staying long.
When are you leaving?
In 3 or 4 days.
If Mom ever comes back, don't tell her I was here.
- Please? - Okay...
Come on. Let's go.
Eat slowly. You'll choke.
Why do you look so haggard?
Eat slowly!
- But it's good! - Why you...
Try the pickle too.
- Long time no see. - Long time...
What's the dog for?
Here.
Sleeping alone can be scary.
How's this going to console me? I'll go back soon anyway.
Warm, living things are comforting.
If you're leaving soon, why bring all that food?
See ya.
His name's Fivo! He was the fifth one born.
Wait! Take him back!
Sorry, Hoon. I'll be in touch soon...
Hey!
A few days after my college entrance exams...
Mom! I'm hungry!
Mom?
Mom!
Mom?
- Hi, Aunt Bok-soon. - Hi.
Where'd your mom go? Didn't she say anything?
She came by earlier and asked me to watch you.
She didn't say why. She just left after saying that.
Did you eat?
I'm not hungry.
You didn't even graduate yet. She's crazy!
Don't worry. She'll be back soon.
I doubt it.
Oh dear.
In her hidden letter, she wrote about why she left.
But I couldn't understand any of it.
I just knew that she wouldn't be back soon.
We moved to Dad's hometown when I was 4 years old.
It was because Dad was sick, but we stayed even after he died.
I was angry and curious about Mom leaving so suddenly.
I wanted to live well and prove I didn't need her.
Here, Hae-won!
Looks like good news.
ACCEPTANCE LETTER
Only I came back without finding answers.
I wonder if Mom found hers.
Come here, Fivo.
Hey, where are you going?
Can you mash the red beans?
Hey, I'm a guest here.
Bang! Bang!
How can you put a guest to work?
What's this?
Am I doing this right?
Yup.
You're doing good!
Yes, ma'am.
It's all mashed up!
Now, what do I do?
So colorful!
Fivo! Fivo!
Sit Fivo!
Fivo sit!
Give me your paw!
Good dog.
Is it done?
Almost.
- Not bad, huh? - What?
Jae-ha. What do you think?
You mean as a man?
Didn't we call him 'Snotty'?
You see him as a man now?
You gave him the nickname!
Well, there's no other guy in this village.
He's cute.
I'm not interested.
Damn dating... It's the same in the city and here.
Then, keep your eyes off him. He's mine.
Got that?
- Hey! - What?
Don't!
There.
Tada!
How can you make rice cake?
It tastes just like your mom's rice cake.
I think mine tastes better.
But it's slightly different.
How?
Your mom's tasted a bit sweeter.
Yours tastes slightly saltier.
How do you remember that? I think it tastes good.
How did he know?
Mom used pumpkin instead of gardenia, so it'll be sweeter.
And I put a little more salt in boiling the red beans.
It's cold! Watch the furnace.
- You said you'd sleep over. - When?
Will you drive me home?
You live down the street.
There's no streetlamp! I can't see in the dark.
Let Fivo sleep outside when it warms up.
I said I'm going back soon.
What's to do in Seoul?
You failed your test, quit your job, and don't talk to your boyfriend.
Don't go anywhere!
Let's go!
I'll come tomorrow.
Reserve a seat for me at 7.
- It's cold. Let's go. - Hey!
- Why you! - Hey!
Silly.
That's weird.
- What? - I don't get it.
Hae-won.
She doesn't look for her mom. They were really close.
It's her pride.
She must be curious and angry at her.
But if she expresses that, she thinks she'd be losing.
She planned to move out right after high school graduation.
But her mom beat her to it!
It hurt her pride.
Moms and daughters are like that?
It's because they're mother and daughter.
Hae-won is a proud girl.
She probably fought with her boyfriend because of that.
She broke up with her boyfriend?
I don't know.
I'll be back soon. Don't worry.
When?
Maybe a week or so.
I'll call when I get there.
Why are you there?
Hello? I can't hear you!
Hello?
The signal's weak here in the country!
- Hello? - I'll call you back later!
Song Hae-won.
Why's your life so hard?
Your life is hard too, huh?
Thief!
It's a burglar!
Thief! Thief!
You scared me.
Why'd you sneak into my field?
Good tomatoes, huh?
So sweet. The ones in Seoul tasted flat.
Freshly picked ones are different.
Look at you!
What?
I'm proud of you. Where'd you learn to farm?
My dad, the other farmers,
and Internet.
Little girl, watch what you say to an adult, huh?
My birthday is way earlier than yours!
Hey, your scar is gone.
What?
Remember when you tried to catch tomatoes with your mouth?
You fell over there, cut your head, and bled so much.
We got so shocked and cried with you!
Right! Where was it?
I was so scared then.
How about it for old time's sake?
Catch!
Can't you catch it?
Come here you!
Lost your touch?
Okay! I'm ready!
- Catch! - Okay.
- Try it again! Ready? - No way!
Catch!
I'll get you!
One, two!
Timber!
After a good sweat, you need alcohol.
On long winter nights, Mom sometimes made Makgeolli.
Sikhye for Hae-won. Makgeolli for me.
Cheers!
Is it good?
Wanna try it?
Yes!
It tasted sour, acidic, and adult-like.
It's gross!
Malt makes it into sweet rice punch, but yeast turns it into wine.
It's perfect!
It's best to drink it with some company in the cold.
It's really good!
- It's cold! Close the door! - No!
You have to drink Makgeolli with the cold wind!
Cut the nonsense and close the door!
No way!
- What was that? - No idea.
- What did I trip on? - Don't know.
Fess up now!
- Why you! - You wanna die!
Stop!
Stop it!
What are you doing?
Hi!
What are you doing?
Can't you see I'm parking my bike?
Is Jae-ha here? You called him too?
Thought I only called you over?
It's not that.
Hey.
Hi.
She pushed me so hard!
Move!
It hurts!
It's freezing.
- Move! - Hey!
Cheers!
It's so good!
You drank it one shot?
Because you came, the three of us can drink.
Is it our first time drinking together?
- I guess. - Right.
But why come down when I said I want to go up?
I was sick of working at a store. It pays peanuts.
I love drip coffee,
but I can't even afford to buy it.
Right. The coffee there is different.
- It's expensive. - Right.
Do you know what drip coffee is?
Of course.
She doesn't. I can tell.
Just one more glass please.
- Stop drinking! - I'm not drunk!
That's enough.
Hey! Hey!
Are you sleeping?
I'm cold. Aren't you cold?
Living in the city, I could see...
how great a job farming is.
The sprouts in the spring...
they look up at the holy sky like small earthly spirits...
I can't really describe it...
But I think I chose an incredibly cool job.
Jae-ha is cool when he's drunk.
He came back here with an answer.
But.
I couldn't bear it anymore and ran away here.
Hello.
1 pork and 1 ham and cheese, please.
One moment, please.
Hey! Stop!
It's not fair to go back after just winter here, right?
Am I right or not?
Huh?
Tell me.
Huh?
If I stay till the spring's spirits break through the winter,
will I find my answers?
SPRING
Thanks for the food!
Potatoes are planted first in spring.
Though it's cold, the ground's warmth pushes the potato sprouts out.
The sprouts, the flowers, and bearing crop...
It all takes time.
You have to wait.
You must wait.
Wait.
You have to wait to taste the best food.
You can get spring greens for free, but potatoes take hard work.
Spring bracken must be carefully dried and stored to eat in the fall.
I talk as if I'll stay till fall.
When potato sprouts come up, it's time to plant other crops.
From then on, there's no time to waste on the farm.
- Are these peppers? - Hot peppers.
- I'll take $3 worth, please. - Sure.
Eun-sook! You're planting it wrong.
It's right!
They're too close together!
- Plant 'em again. - No! Go away!
If you plant 'em like this, they'll get tangled up!
- Move! - No!
Shut up and just go home.
- It's your fault. - You go home.
- No! You go home! - Shut up. Be quiet!
- What? - Watch. Try it again.
Thanks for the food!
Aren't you scared to live there with no cameras or door locks?
What will you do all day?
I hate the country because of bugs!
Flies, worms, and bees! Gross!
What? Why?
It's a bug!
No!
Why hello, caterpillar!
Did it fall from the tree?
- You touched it? - Amazing!
They don't know that I'm a product of the land and air here.
Of course, some things are annoying.
Fivo, Fivo! What's this? Look!
Hae-won!
Eat it!
Mr. Kim!
Hae-won? Come have a seat here.
Come here.
You want to be a teacher? Did you pass the exam?
Got a boyfriend?
What happened to your mom? Did she get remarried?
So what if she did! I'd get remarried too!
CLOSED TO HELP OUT IN FARMING SEASON
The most annoying thing is
Mom coming to mind whenever I cook.
It's like I'm always competing with her.
Focus.
Cooking reflects your heart.
Please get out of my head, Mom.
It's best to eat it raw,
but I want to make something unique.
Not again!
How about pancake?
Cabbage pancake?
Lots!
Swirl it on.
Like this.
Wanna try?
What's that?
Tree.
Tree branch.
I'll shred this on top.
What?
That's weird!
Don't do it Mommy!
No tree branch!
All done!
It's weird!
Look! The tree bits are moving!
Wanna smell it?
It smelled really unique and original.
- Looks good, huh? - I thought she was a genius.
This looks so good!
Mom didn't create that?
It's delicious!
Excuse me?
Sometimes I knew she lied, but Mom's cooking was never boring.
Unique dishes are good,
but spring cabbage tastes best raw.
The more you chew, the sweeter it gets.
I haven't delivered to this place in a while.
Hae-won, right?
Yes. Hello, sir.
Wait! Could you send this back?
Why?
Because...
I'm going back soon. I don't want mail coming here.
I can't do that.
There's no address. It can't be returned.
And Hae-won,
it's your freedom to read it or not, but I must deliver it.
That's a mail carrier's fate.
So? What did it say?
What did your mom write?
Her potato bread recipe.
I was dying to know. You tried Mom's potato bread, right?
It was the best!
I begged her to tell me, but she said she'd teach me later.
She leaves home and sends me her potato bread recipe?
How could she?
It's nice and useful.
Then write her back with a unique recipe of your own.
I don't know where she is.
I think she's living fine.
That's weird. How did she know I was here?
SUMMER
No matter how much I pluck the weed out,
it grows like my worries.
It's way too hot.
Thanks.
No thanks.
- It's nice and cold. - I'm good.
- It's hot, isn't it? - Thank you.
- Iced coffee? - Thank you.
We fought over nothing.
Eun-sook complained non-stop about her bank manager.
He always wanders around outside.
Then he shows up late when we're about to close
and tells us to do the work over again!
Why doesn't he tell us in the first place?
If I keep working here, I'll get cancer and die!
Then just quit.
If it stresses you out that much, it's better for you to quit.
How could you?
What?
How can you tell me to quit?
You don't care at all, do you?
What did I say?
Why would I stress out about it if I'm just going to quit?
Is quitting that easy to you?
A friend should take my side and pat my back.
But you act all high and mighty?
I can never talk to you! You don't listen!
You're frustrating!
So suffocating!
What's with her?
She'll come around.
But it bothers me.
This isn't like you.
Remember when you were bullied in grade 4?
Me?
You don't remember?
I was really surprised by you.
Other kids would've cried and had a hard time.
But you didn't care and just let them be.
It's like you ignored them instead of them leaving you out.
Soon, they stopped bullying you.
Really?
I thought you were cool. Don't remember?
Not really.
It was Yong-hyun, Min-seok, and Soon-chun.
Yong-hyun is a farmer here.
Soon-chun runs a pizza shop in Seoul.
I wonder what Min-seok is up to.
I remembered.
Mom? Kids are bullying me.
What?
Why?
I don't know.
They don't answer me or let me play with them.
Just leave them.
What?
If you respond to that,
they'll get excited and do it more.
What?
I'm upset, but you talk as if it is nothing!
You should console me!
Know what those bullies want the most?
To see you sad.
So, if you don't get sad,
you win!
Turn around.
Number 21, please.
Hey!
What's this?
La joie de vivre crème brulee.
Crème brulee for short.
Here.
Hit it!
Mom was like a magician.
A magician who can change my mood instantly.
This is called crème brulee.
Crème brulee.
I created it. It's actually called,
la joie de vivre crème brulee.
But I shortened it to crème brulee just for you.
Crème brulee-lee-lee-lee.
Brulee-lee-lee?
Village chief here.
There's a heat wave warning again.
While Granny Kim Yong-lae picked peppers yesterday afternoon,
she fell from heatstroke and almost died.
Please refrain from farming in daytime and drink lots of water.
Thank you.
Stop!
I'm watering the jujube tree. Look!
I'm hot.
I'm fine sitting still like this. There's a nice breeze.
- What breeze? - Oh my!
What's with all the weed?
You can't tell if it's a melon field or not.
I'll pluck the weed later.
Why do it later? It's best to do it now.
- Don't muck around and work! - Yes, ma'am.
Granny didn't pass away, did she?
Why would my mom die so soon?
Why don't you call her? Stop being so stubborn.
She was against me marrying your dad, so I stormed out
saying I'll prove her wrong.
I can totally picture it.
Don't you want to date again?
Just wondering.
I hope it's not because of me...
You've matured.
It is because of me?
If I wanted to date, I would have.
I dated long enough with your dad, I don't miss it at all.
Do you miss dad?
Even if it's thrown like that, tomatoes will grow next year.
It's amazing.
In order for it to grow just by throwing it like that,
it must be a ripe tomato grown outdoors with plenty of sun.
She meant she missed him.
Tomatoes are weak to rain.
If it rains too much, the stem turns brown and withers.
It's a hit or miss to grow tomatoes outdoors.
It's a miss this year.
Are there snails around you?
I don't see any here.
Hae-won! How much did you catch?
You wanna see?
Ow! My eyes!
There's a lot here!
There's a lot here too!
Did that to your boyfriend too?
What?
Stare at him when he's eating?
Why do you ask?
Just because.
Is it uncomfortable?
Sometimes it's uncomfortable.
You retard!
What girl makes lunch for her boyfriend these days?
That's only on TV, pal. No one does that.
I wish she'd study instead.
Don't complain, pal.
I stopped after that.
He was probably bragging.
But I felt horrible.
That's why you broke up?
What?
We didn't break up.
Why'd you break up?
Who says I did?
Eun-sook.
Why would she...!
You know,
I came back here and she's there.
You're so cool about it.
No. I cried a lot.
Really?
I bawled when we broke up.
Leaving Seoul wasn't hard, but leaving her was painful.
I really liked her a lot.
What did you say when you broke up?
That I didn't want to take orders from others.
Were you drunk?
Working for a company,
there was nothing I could decide on my own.
I had no time to think or live a life.
Just waiting for payday to come around...
Suddenly, it hit me.
Seeing myself live like that, I felt like I'd go crazy.
So, what did she say?
What?
She didn't believe me. She said good luck with the bitch.
I'm here!
What did she bring?
What are you doing? Having fun?
Don't have fun without me!
It's slippery here!
- What's that? - So heavy!
I stole it while my dad went into town!
If you get caught, you're dead!
I'll just fill it up with water. There's lots here!
Why'd you bring that? To drink it all?
Yes! Let's drink till we drop!
Why?
My damn manager isn't moving to another branch now!
I put up with him because I thought he'd be gone soon.
I'm so mad! I don't know what to do!
Give me a cup.
No one leaves until we finish this!
Hey.
It's not balloon flower root.
Dad used to farm bodark trees.
Gross!
- Bodark? - Come on.
- Bodark bark! - Stop it!
Bodark bark! Woof!
Don't spit on me! Gross!
Hoon?
I was going to call you.
It's been a while.
I know.
I've been meaning to say this.
To break up?
That too.
I know it's really late,
but congratulations on your exam.
Thanks.
I don't remember what I said after that.
But I remember one thing.
I said I didn't leave for here, but that I came back.
Yes! I won!
AUTUMN
- Hey! - Hi.
- Withdrew money? - Yup.
Anything left in your balance?
My balance is a lot! Not.
Don't go to loan sharks if you're empty.
- Come to me, okay? - Sure.
- They're scary! - I know.
Should we call Jae-ha and eat out in town?
He's working. Why call him?
Did you tell Jae-ha that you like him yet?
After everything I did, he should know.
If you don't say anything, how would he know?
Don't start preaching again.
Got that?
They don't know if you just keep quiet and patient.
You have to spit it out or it'll rot inside you.
- See ya. - Bye!
That's what I told her, but I couldn't do it either.
This card was denied, sir. Do you have cash or another card?
Who carries cash around these days?
I just used it at another store!
Swipe it again! Call the manager out!
I just took it in.
You good for nothing twerp!
Stop wasting company money and work for your pay!
What kind of irresponsible dork are you!
What?
What are you doing?
I didn't reject it like Jae-ha.
♪ You are my special love ♪
♪ I'd cross the Pacific and ♪ ♪ Atlantic oceans for you ♪
♪ If you call me, I'll run to you ♪
Eun-sook's not one to keep things bottled up.
She hit her manager's head with a tambourine before payday.
Luckily, she got her pay and the manager went to another branch.
Now, I'm the only one Eun-sook needs out of the way.
What?
If you don't leave here, I won't either.
What?
Let's fight fair and square over Jae-ha.
What do you mean?
Think you'll lose?
What?
Okay...
- Holy! - Deal.
I don't believe this!
She was Jae-ha's ex-girlfriend.
I was barking up the wrong tree.
Our ancestors were amazing.
They made that idiom to explain my situation now.
Will you give up?
Her skin is too white.
I don't stand a chance.
It could be the right tree.
Don't give up barking. Once the prey comes down, catch it.
I'm so stressed!
Got anything to eat?
You said if I hit the manager, you'd give me the best food.
I did?
The best food is making it yourself.
Not the cabbage, but peppers.
Peppers.
That's too much! It'll rip up our stomach!
I'll eat spicy food and die!
Is it good?
Totally!
Did you two fight?
It's spicy.
I'm crying more than when I got dumped.
Get your own fork!
- Where's the girl? - She left.
Already? Did you fight?
She was just dropping by.
Why would she drop by a rural place like this?
Why'd she have to come now when I'm over her?
Are you crying?
It's because it's spicy.
I heard later Jae-ha's ex-girlfriend was not over him.
But Jae-ha said to her...
I like someone else now.
As a child, I heard bears came out in the fall.
Though it can't be true, memories have lasting impacts.
See you tomorrow.
I make sweet chestnuts even sweeter to store them,
so that I won't eat them all at once.
Glazed chestnuts tasting this good means it is deep into autumn.
My friend Jae-ha the soon-to-be millionaire!
Your paddy is filled with rice.
Your orchard is covered with apples.
The rice paddy is my dad's.
Still...
I'll give you a sack of rice at harvest, if...
If what?
Help pick the apples. Stop loafing around.
What? I keep busy!
I have to help my aunt pick peppers and sesame.
I have to find chestnuts and dry persimmons too.
I have lots to do.
You say you'll go to Seoul, but you're busy storing fall's goods?
Keeping busy like that won't solve your problems.
Right.
I should go back soon and figure out my life, right?
See ya!
Damn it!
Why are you out in the rain?
Were you scared?
It's okay. I'm here.
I called in a tractor to harvest next week.
Heaven can be cruel.
You worked so hard in the scorching heat...
It's not fair.
What can we do against heaven's will?
Don't work too hard.
I should've gone back yesterday.
We'll never get this done!
Stop yapping and work! We'll be done soon.
It's endless!
Ow! My back!
The storm hit here too?
- Hi. - Too bad.
Lesson learned for a newbie farmer.
You enjoy living like this when farming is this hard?
Getting hit hard like this is upsetting,
but farming suits me.
At least there's no scamming or cheating in farming.
My body may hurt, but I'm not stressed.
What's wrong?
I put up rice stalks yesterday.
You're in pain just from that?
What? I almost died!
Wish I can show you my back covered with pain relief patches.
Ow! My back!
Just go home.
Take some fallen apples with you.
Make apple jam with them.
Can I really go?
Yes!
It's better if you go.
Wait!
Take this.
This apple is fine.
I wanted to give you that before this.
It held out through the typhoon.
Unlike you.
Jae-ha was right.
I ignore what's important
and evade the problem by pretending to work hard.
You chose this life not me.
What will you do in the city?
What's to do here? Cooking and plucking weed?
You may want to live here forever, but not me!
If you massage it, it'll become a soft dried persimmon in winter.
Winter has to come to eat good dried persimmon.
What in the world!
I'm going to school.
Eat before you go.
Mom, I'm late!
I'm going to live right next to a bus stop in Seoul.
And it's less cold in Seoul. Bye!
Hae-won, you'll leave here for college soon.
I want to go and try things that I had given up to get married early.
I may fail, and I'm worried that it may be too late,
but I'll walk out our front gate and make my own time.
I always said everything is about timing.
I think the time has come now.
I didn't go back to Seoul after your dad passed away
because I wanted to plant and have you set root here.
When things are hard,
remember the scent of the land, the wind, and sun here.
Then I know you can dust yourself off and get up again.
Let's think of it as the start of a long trip to return home well.
I love you always, Hae-won. From Mom.
Finally, I understand Mom's letter.
Mom?
Where are you?
Mom?
For Mom,
the nature, cooking, and her love for me
have been her little forest.
I should find my own little forest too.
I wrote back to Mom that night.
Dear Mom,
If dried persimmons taste this good,
it means it is deep into winter.
Whoever sees this first takes care of Fivo and the hen.
She makes me so mad. How can she not call once?
She's like a salary passing through a bankbook.
You think she'd stay, but vanishes in a flash.
I don't think she ran away.
What?
Are you two keeping in touch?
I just have a feeling Hae-won will be back soon.
Really? Why?
Permanent planting.
Maybe Hae-won is preparing for permanent planting.
Onions start out as seeds.
Plant the seeds in the fall.
Cover it for a week with a straw mat until the sprouts grow.
Then you move and plant them in a good, fertilized field.
That's permanent planting.
It means no transplanting, but planting for good.
If you protect them until they set root,
they won't die and wither in the frost.
Onions that endured winter are sweeter than spring onions.
Hope she knows we did this for her in the cold!
It's freezing!
Here's your order of salad rice bowl.
Let me know if you need anything else.
Thank you.
- Water, please. - Yes.
It's spring!
Fivo!
Fivo! I missed you!
How'd you come here?
Fivo!
Hello!