The movie is based on the real events of the "Na-young Case" that took place in December 2008 in which an eight-year-old girl (alias Na-young) was on her way to school when she was kidnapped by 57-year-old Cho Doo Soon (Jo Du Sun), who was drunk at the time. Cho raped and beat Nayoung at a public squat toilet. Na-young had injures to her internal organs, and was taken to a hospital, surviving the incident. Cho was arrested and eventually sentenced to 12 years in prison. The case sparked outrage and protest including Nayoung's parents and many others.
Director Lee Joon-ik had retired briefly from the local film industry following the lackluster commercial performance of his previous effort Pyeong-yang-seong (2011). He returned two years later with Esperança (2013), casting top actor Sul Kyung-gu in one of the lead roles. Lee said he wanted to "make a happy movie that begins with a tragedy. With this heartbreaking material, I wanted to make the film as happy as possible. I am going to present a human drama where hope blooms at the edge of unhappiness and desperation, after a series of ordeals and hardships." He maintained that he made the film to "encourage Na-young and other victims of sex crimes," and that instead of other films with a similar subject matter that focus on sensationalist aspects, like the crime itself, Esperança (2013) is about "what happens after, and is more about showing how life is good and worth living, emphasizing how the community rallied around the victim."
Actress Uhm Ji-won had previously declined the film two years before, thinking she wasn't talented enough or ready to take on the intense emotions her role (as So-won's mother) required. But when Sol's wife and her close friend Song Yun-ah sent the script to her, Uhm said, "I started to think that this movie was supposed to come to me. I felt that someone should tell this valuable story. And I gained the courage to think that I could try it.
Shooting began in Changwon on April 13, 2013. Throughout the filming, Sul Kyung-gu stayed in character as So-won's father, wearing his character's clothes all the time. The film wrapped on June 24, 2013 in Busan; the entire cast attended the final day of filming.
This film is in the Official Top 250 Narrative Feature Films on Letterboxd.