The Room Nearby (2009 Film)

The Room Nearby (Korean: 그녀들의 방; RR: Gonyeodeului Bang) is a 2009 South Korean drama film directed and written by Goh Tae-Jeong. The film examines the social and economic pressures faced by individuals navigating urban poverty and housing instability in South Korea.

Promotional poster for The Room Nearby — Promotional poster for the 2009 film The Room Nearby.

Plot

The narrative centers on Eon-joo, a private tutor living in a cramped student apartment. Driven by the desire to escape her impoverished circumstances and secure a private living space, she encounters Seok-hee, a middle-aged woman, at a homeless shelter. The film focuses on the emotional toll and the psychological weight of housing insecurity experienced by its female protagonists.

Production and Release

The film was produced by Kim Young-Hwa and Jung Hyung-Rae. It held its world premiere in October 2008 at the 13th Pusan International Film Festival, where it was screened as part of the Korean Cinema Today - Vision program. The film received a theatrical release in South Korea on March 12, 2009. It has a runtime of 106 minutes.

Cast

Jung Yu-Mi as Ku Eon-joo
Ye Soo-Jung as Yu Seok-hee
Park Hyuk-Kwon as Lee Jae-woo
Jin Kyung as Teacher Park
Jung Yoon-seo as Yo-se's mother
Shin Yun-sook as Grandmother
Kim Hyun as Hye-min's mother
Shin Dam-soo as Jung Joon-sung
Baek Soo-jang as Jung Eun-sung
Kim Min-jung as Joseph's aunt
Son Jin-hwan as General Manager Choi
Jin Sun-mi as Fighting student
Na Seok-min as Real estate developer employee
Choi Hyo-sang as Real estate agent

Film Festivals

In addition to its premiere at the Pusan International Film Festival in 2008, The Room Nearby was screened at the 5th Korean Film Festival in Paris in 2010.