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"I've got nothing to give you, but I'll stay by your side"
If you choose to watch Miss Baek, best be warned that it can be a tough watch. The film unflinchingly showed the story of child abuse. It also showed the fallout from abuse when an adult carries those wounds with them through the years.
Miss Baek has a rocky relationship with her police detective boyfriend Jang Seop. Baek refuses to let anyone get too close. As a teenager, she’d protected herself from her rapist and was the one who ended up in jail. Now with a criminal record she works numerous part-time jobs. Her depressed and alcoholic mother beat her and eventually abandoned her. When she sees 9-year-old Ji Eun shivering in the street, she feeds her trying to ignore the bruising she sees. When she eventually intervenes, the abusive guardians attempt to have her arrested. As a single woman with a record and not related to the child, the police refuse to hear her out. Ji Eun is once again sent home with her tormentors.
These types of films always walk a fine line between revealing reality and being exploitive. The sad truth is that every year, regardless of country, children are beaten, sexually abused, and killed by people who are supposed to love and protect them. I take issue with the word abuse, because too often in cases I’ve been familiar with the correct term would be torture. If one did the same acts to an adult prisoner, that’s what it would be called. And too often authorities are slow to act and innocent lives are taught the meaning of pain and distrust. For people who have never experienced familial terror, it can be hard to believe that such gruesome acts take place in “polite” society. Sometimes, it takes film to shine a light into the darkness to inform and also to confirm to the harmed that abusive actions are not and never were acceptable. They are heinous crimes.
Miss Baek told the story of two people who understood each other because of similar experiences. One person who lacked education, finances, and connections stepped up refusing to let a child suffer any longer regardless of the consequences. The third act had some issues, but overall, it was a strong effort by writer/director Lee Ji Won with Han Ji Min and Kim Si A giving excellent performances.
8 August 2026
Trigger warnings: Based on a true story-physical abuse of a child. Attempted murder of a child. Child endangerment. Smoking. Sexual assault off screen.
Age note: The main characters had an age gap on screen, but the actors did not (3 years). The supporting actors had a 7ish year gap.
Housekeeping Note: 1300th REVIEW
Miss Baek has a rocky relationship with her police detective boyfriend Jang Seop. Baek refuses to let anyone get too close. As a teenager, she’d protected herself from her rapist and was the one who ended up in jail. Now with a criminal record she works numerous part-time jobs. Her depressed and alcoholic mother beat her and eventually abandoned her. When she sees 9-year-old Ji Eun shivering in the street, she feeds her trying to ignore the bruising she sees. When she eventually intervenes, the abusive guardians attempt to have her arrested. As a single woman with a record and not related to the child, the police refuse to hear her out. Ji Eun is once again sent home with her tormentors.
These types of films always walk a fine line between revealing reality and being exploitive. The sad truth is that every year, regardless of country, children are beaten, sexually abused, and killed by people who are supposed to love and protect them. I take issue with the word abuse, because too often in cases I’ve been familiar with the correct term would be torture. If one did the same acts to an adult prisoner, that’s what it would be called. And too often authorities are slow to act and innocent lives are taught the meaning of pain and distrust. For people who have never experienced familial terror, it can be hard to believe that such gruesome acts take place in “polite” society. Sometimes, it takes film to shine a light into the darkness to inform and also to confirm to the harmed that abusive actions are not and never were acceptable. They are heinous crimes.
Miss Baek told the story of two people who understood each other because of similar experiences. One person who lacked education, finances, and connections stepped up refusing to let a child suffer any longer regardless of the consequences. The third act had some issues, but overall, it was a strong effort by writer/director Lee Ji Won with Han Ji Min and Kim Si A giving excellent performances.
8 August 2026
Trigger warnings: Based on a true story-physical abuse of a child. Attempted murder of a child. Child endangerment. Smoking. Sexual assault off screen.
Age note: The main characters had an age gap on screen, but the actors did not (3 years). The supporting actors had a 7ish year gap.
Housekeeping Note: 1300th REVIEW
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