프로그램 노트

Program Note

In a quiet seaside town in Sokcho, Gangwon Province, Soo-ha helps run a guesthouse. One day, a stranger appears: Yan Kerrand, a French writer who has come to this unfamiliar place in search of inspiration for his next story. For reasons she cannot explain, Soo-ha finds herself drawn to him—pulled by a mysterious force. This mysterious pull and fascination become the central force that drives Winter in Sokcho forward.

What is it, exactly? Could it be a vague yet primal longing to find the French father who left her and her mother before she was even born—without ever knowing of her existence? While the film suggests such a possibility on the surface, the inner world of the captivated woman stirs with emotions far more complex and turbulent.

Her desire is tangled with layers of tension, excitement, anticipation, and perhaps something close to affection—a quietly burning attraction to a secretive outsider, a wandering stranger, a solitary artist. In the process, Soo-ha will come face to face with her own secret desires. In those moments, the film turns to animation to portray the shifting emotional landscape of the female body. This choice opens up a new breathing space within narrative cinema and allows for freer expression.

Sokcho's distinct atmosphere and geography also contribute meaningfully to the progression of their relationship. Facing the vast East Sea and bordering the northern frontier, Sokcho feels simultaneously open and closed, and carries with it an indistinct sense of loneliness. The roughness and stillness particular to this old town create a sense of stasis, which becomes the dominant emotional tone between the two. (JEONG Jihye)