Letters To The President’ Brings A Transferring Story To US Screens

In “Miracle: Letters to the President”, traveling on the train tracks is the only option

OnDemandKorea

Joon-kyeong, the protagonist in Miracle: Letters to the President, lives in such a remote village that getting to the nearest train station can be a matter of life or death. Trains run through his village, but they don’t stop there. To reach the school and other facilities, villagers have to walk on the train tracks, and given the unpredictable train schedule, such walks sometimes end in tragedy. Joon-kyeong, played by Park Jung-min, has a dream. It’s the only dream he dares to have, but he’s committed. He wants to build a train station in his village so that no more lives are lost.

Miracle: Letters to the President is a fictional account of the construction of Yangwon Railway Station in North Gyeongsang Province. South Korea’s only privately built train station opened in 1988 and stayed open until 2012 when transportation to the area improved. Set in the 1980s, the film is a hopeful story about the importance of staying true to a dream.

Joon-kyeong writes repeatedly to the President of Korea asking him to approve a train station for his village, but receives no response. When he starts high school, his commute across the train tracks is dangerous and time consuming. Fortunately, the long way to work does not affect his studies. He’s a math prodigy.

New opportunities open up for Joon-kyeong after meeting his enthusiastic classmate Ra-hee, played by Im Yoona. She is a firm believer in chasing dreams and wants to be his muse.

His father, played by Lee Sung-min, is a railroad engineer and the two don’t spend much time together. However, when Joon-Kyeong is offered a promising escape from their remote village, he is reluctant to leave. It is Joon-kyeong’s relationship with his sister that is the emotional core of the film, and realizing the extent of that relationship offers a new perspective on his decisions.

Miracle: Letters to the President will be published in South Korea on September 15, but will also be shown in the United States a few days later. OnDemandKorea (ODK) will present the film on September 17 in California at CGV Los Angeles and CGV Buena Park theaters as well as in Fairfax, Virginia. Further screenings are planned in Vancouver, Seattle, San Francisco, New York and New Jersey and the film will eventually also be broadcast on the streaming platform.

The film’s star, Park Jung-min, is best known for his roles in Bleak Night, Time To Hunt and Deliver Us From Evil. Soon he can be seen in the Netflix NFLX drama Hellbound.

Im Yoona, a member of the K-pop group Girls Generation, recently starred in the films Exit and Confidential Assignment 2. She also appeared in the drama Hush and will play a role in the drama Big Mouse.

Actor Lee Sung-min appeared in the films The Man Standing Next and Mr. Zoo. This year he will appear in the drama Juvenile Judgment and next year he will appear in the drama The Chaebol’s Youngest Son.

Lee Soo-kyung, who plays Joon-kyeong’s sister Bo-Kyeong, has appeared in the films Mr. Zoo and The Odd Family: Zombies on Sale, as well as in the dramas Law School and Where Stars Land.

In Miracle: Letters to the President, director Lee Jang-hoon created a moving story about the power of determination.