The Surrogate Woman

Infobox Korean Film
name = The Surrogate Woman


image_size =
caption = Theatrical poster to "Surrogate Woman" / "Ssibaji"
director = Im Kwon-taek
producer = Jeong Do-hwan
writer =
starring = Kang Soo-yeon
Lee Gu-sun
Yun Yang-ha
music = Shin Pyong-ha
cinematography = Ku Jung-mo
editing = Park Sun-duk
distributor = Shin Han Films
released = flagicon|South Korea March 21, 1987
runtime = 100 min.
country = South Korea
language = Korean
budget =
gross =
amg_id = 1:176426
imdb_id = 0091953
hangul =
hanja =
rr = "Sibaji"
mr =

"The Surrogate Woman" "aka" "Surrogate Womb" "aka" "The Surrogate Mother" (씨받이 - "Ssibaji") is a 1987 film directed by Im Kwon-taek, dealing with a love affair during the Yi Dynasty.

The movie won multiple accolades at the 1987 Asian Film Festival and the Venice Film Festival, including Best Film, Best Director, Best actress, and Best supporting actress. Kang Soo-Yeon plays as the main character and has been widely acclaimed in her role as the surrogate mother. This film reveals the interaction of the rich aristocratic life with the poor servant life during the Yi Dynasty.

Plot

Shin, a nobleman, had been trying to conceive a male heir to pass his family name. Unable to provide a male heir, Shin's wife gives her husband permission to search for a surrogate wife to bare a male heir. On the way to finding a surrogate wife, Shin runs into a 17 year old girl, Ok-nyo. She was a poor feisty girl whom stated she would do anything for money. The stubborn nature of Ok-nyo attracts Shin and influences him to choose her to become the surrogate mother for his child. Ok-nyo holds the social status of a servant, but the relationship changes both of them through the course of the movie. Ok-nyo had to obey rules which keep her hidden during the day and delegated her to perform the mating ritual during Shins wife's hours of choosing. No matter what was happening, Ok-nyo could not leave the building in which she was 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 to break off the relationship by telling her the realities of life. Even though both were punished for the incursion, they still meet until the end. Eventually Ok-nyo conceives the child heir for Shin and is burdened with the mystery of whether Shin will stay by her side or leave with her child forever.

Also starring

*Kang Soo-Yeon
*Lee Goo-Soon
*Yun Yang-Ha
*Pang Hee

References

*cite book|last=Cho|first=Eunsun|editor=James, David E. & Kim Kyung-hyun|year=2002|title=Im Kwon-Taek: The Making of a Korean National Cinema|chapter=The Female Body and Enunciation in "Adada" and "Surrogate Mother"|pages=p.84-106|publisher=Wayne State University Press|location=Detroit|isbn=0-8143-2869-5
*
*cite web |url=http://www.koreafilmfest.com/index.php?p=retrospettiva&l=eng|title=Im Kwon-taek's Retrospective|accessdate=2007-10-31|publisher= [http://www.koreafilmfest.com/index.php?p=home&l=eng 5th Festival of Korean Cinema in Italy] |year=2007|language=English
* cite web |url=http://wc03.allmovie.com/cg/avg.dll?p=avg&sql=1:176426|title=Sibaji
accessdate=2007-10-25|last=Fountain|first=Clarke|publisher=Allmovie|language=English
*imdb title|id=0091953|title=Sibaji (1987)
*cite web |url=http://www.timeout.com/film/reviews/75683/Surrogate_Mother.html|title=Surrogate Mother (Movie review)|accessdate=2007-11-20|publisher= [http://www.timeout.com/london/ TimeOut London] |year=2007|language=English