Go-cheol eul wihayeo

Go-Chul means 'scrap iron' or 'junk iron' which is not used any more or needs to be recycled. Director Hur Jin-Ho describes the way in which the ordinary man, who spent his youth near the junk iron collecting place, accepts his girlfriend, who is not a virgin, as his wife. Korean man used to consider woman's virginity. The ordinary man in this film finally gets to imperturbability after he gives up his meaningless adherence to woman's virginity.

After he knew to have drunk the water in a skeleton, Wonhyo(means The First Dawn), the great Buddhist Zen master in Korean History, said "Il Che Yu Shim Jo(Mind gives meaning to everything)." The ordinary man decides to plan the happy life with her by abandoning his adherence - by changing his mind. The negation of the past is the first step for the bright future.

A friend of mine told me that she was upset because the director compared a woman with junk iron or 'used'. She might not understand that people struggled to accept the bright side of life by comparing the thing new or unfamiliar with the thing that he already got used to.

If you have the opportunity to see this film, you may understand Christmas in August much better.