Aloners

In Aloners, we meet young Jina, who has chosen to shut out the outside world to protect herself from life's challenges. But when a young neighbour dies and a new, far more outgoing one shows up, all that starts to change.

Hong herself has claimed that she recognises herself in Jina. The proportion of single people in South Korea has grown dramatically in recent years, with women in particular choosing to be alone, with many feeling that the traditional framework for marriage and family is too narrow.

The zeitgeist of Aloners is arguably even more pertinent since the covid shutdowns have given most of us an insight into what it means to live in isolation.