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A Girl at My Door was an ambiguous story that brought up numerous social concerns without really addressing any of them in a satisfactory way. The highlight of the film was the acting by Bae Doo Na and the late Kim Sae Ron.
Lee Young Nam has been transferred from the Police Academy to a small coastal town to serve at the local police department as Chief. She discovers the town is hardly idyllic. The oyster farmers use illegal immigrants as underpaid labor brokered by Park Yong Ha. Park is also the “stepfather” of Sun Do Hee whom he beats every time he drinks which is daily. His mother is also an alcoholic who berates and beats Do Hee. After a particularly rough patch, Do Hee shows up at Young Nam’s door and the officer takes her in for the summer break. But Young Nam is hiding her own secrets.
A Girl at My Door was an ambitious low-budget film. Due to its content, July Jung could only secure $300,000 worth of funding. Bae Doo Na and Kim Sae Ron agreed to forgo their salaries. What was the terrible content? Young Nam was a lesbian. That fact alone seemed to be the reason the character was reassigned and treated as abnormal. The problem I had was that there were times the film came close to crossing the line with her relationship with Do Hee. Not because of sexual orientation but because of age. While the film attempted to show Yong Nam as only protecting Do Hee in a maternal manner, sharing a bath with a fourteen-year-old could be construed as inappropriate in any type of relationship, but especially one as a non-relative guardian. As a police officer she should have known better where to draw the lines regardless of her sexual orientation. Of course, when their relationship was called into question, everyone jumped to the homosexual equals pedophile conclusion which was rather infuriating, yet Young Nam knowing the state of homophobia still made questionable decisions as an officer of the law. Director July Jung seemed determined to blur lines which made it difficult to understand aspects of their relationship.
The film brought up the plight of illegal immigrants. How they were treated as less than, underpaid, overworked, and abused. Yong Ha’s actions were illegal. Yet nothing came of it. Yong Ha was known to beat Do Hee, something Young Nam warned him was a crime. Yet even after seeing the significant bruising on the child, she didn’t arrest him. Didn’t call child services. Do Hee was clearly a disturbed child after bearing daily emotional and physical abuse from Yong Ha and his mother. If anyone needed therapy it was this poor kid, yet none was ever offered. Do Hee made terrifying decisions that affected Young Nam and Yong Ha*. And finally, alcoholism was rampant in the scenic village. Young Nam drank at least 1.5 liters of soju every night. She managed to be a high functioning alcoholic, but it may have led to some of her questionable decisions. Maybe she should have focused on finding a therapist for herself and Do Hee.
There was a lot of pain, abusive behavior, mental illness, homophobia, racism, and alcoholism on display in this film. The adults made terrible decisions on a regular basis. Even Young Nam who tried to help Do Hee was guilty of leaving the child in a dangerous situation. As much as I wanted to root for Young Nam to be Do Hee’s surrogate mom, she really needed to hit rehab and get herself sorted out before dealing with an emotionally troubled child. Great performances by Bae Doo Na and the late Kim Sae Ron could not quite overcome the script’s shortcomings.
17 August 2026
Trigger warnings: Alcoholism. Physical abuse. Sexual situation with a minor.
Spoilery rants below:
*Do Hee’s final actions against Yong Ha were understandable as he had started to show sexual interest in her. She did what she had to do to survive. But no rape kit or hospital visit? And they just kicked an underaged “rape” victim loose to go home by herself? Where was the concern for her when Young Nam was seen to be the problem?
Also, I have very real concerns about an underaged actor being in sexual scenes and sexualized.
The interviewers seemed to be very interested in Do Hee when the concern was she had been molested by Young Nam, but they had zero problem sending her home to a drunken guardian who beat the crap out of her as well as emotionally abused her. So as long as it was just daily physical and emotional abuse by a heterosexual man, that was okay?
Do Hee’s jealousy and possessiveness were dangerous, but understandable given her living conditions. Again, she needed therapy to understand what she was feeling and how to gain control over her violent outbursts. I still cannot comprehend them sending her home to a vicious guardian after the molestation charges or to an empty house after Yong Ha was arrested. Where was the care she so desperately needed? Also, Young Nam seemed to have no problem sending Do Hee home for the school year knowing nothing had changed at home with Yong Ha.
No concern that Do Hee could also be a murderer? Might have been self-defense but the film never said.
Lastly, the local police department didn’t seem to have a problem with having a woman as chief. They had no problem arresting her, even though they refused to arrest Yong Ha for his many crimes because he was integral to their local economy. At least the jerks who interrogated her apologized to her. This film could give a person whiplash.
Lee Young Nam has been transferred from the Police Academy to a small coastal town to serve at the local police department as Chief. She discovers the town is hardly idyllic. The oyster farmers use illegal immigrants as underpaid labor brokered by Park Yong Ha. Park is also the “stepfather” of Sun Do Hee whom he beats every time he drinks which is daily. His mother is also an alcoholic who berates and beats Do Hee. After a particularly rough patch, Do Hee shows up at Young Nam’s door and the officer takes her in for the summer break. But Young Nam is hiding her own secrets.
A Girl at My Door was an ambitious low-budget film. Due to its content, July Jung could only secure $300,000 worth of funding. Bae Doo Na and Kim Sae Ron agreed to forgo their salaries. What was the terrible content? Young Nam was a lesbian. That fact alone seemed to be the reason the character was reassigned and treated as abnormal. The problem I had was that there were times the film came close to crossing the line with her relationship with Do Hee. Not because of sexual orientation but because of age. While the film attempted to show Yong Nam as only protecting Do Hee in a maternal manner, sharing a bath with a fourteen-year-old could be construed as inappropriate in any type of relationship, but especially one as a non-relative guardian. As a police officer she should have known better where to draw the lines regardless of her sexual orientation. Of course, when their relationship was called into question, everyone jumped to the homosexual equals pedophile conclusion which was rather infuriating, yet Young Nam knowing the state of homophobia still made questionable decisions as an officer of the law. Director July Jung seemed determined to blur lines which made it difficult to understand aspects of their relationship.
The film brought up the plight of illegal immigrants. How they were treated as less than, underpaid, overworked, and abused. Yong Ha’s actions were illegal. Yet nothing came of it. Yong Ha was known to beat Do Hee, something Young Nam warned him was a crime. Yet even after seeing the significant bruising on the child, she didn’t arrest him. Didn’t call child services. Do Hee was clearly a disturbed child after bearing daily emotional and physical abuse from Yong Ha and his mother. If anyone needed therapy it was this poor kid, yet none was ever offered. Do Hee made terrifying decisions that affected Young Nam and Yong Ha*. And finally, alcoholism was rampant in the scenic village. Young Nam drank at least 1.5 liters of soju every night. She managed to be a high functioning alcoholic, but it may have led to some of her questionable decisions. Maybe she should have focused on finding a therapist for herself and Do Hee.
There was a lot of pain, abusive behavior, mental illness, homophobia, racism, and alcoholism on display in this film. The adults made terrible decisions on a regular basis. Even Young Nam who tried to help Do Hee was guilty of leaving the child in a dangerous situation. As much as I wanted to root for Young Nam to be Do Hee’s surrogate mom, she really needed to hit rehab and get herself sorted out before dealing with an emotionally troubled child. Great performances by Bae Doo Na and the late Kim Sae Ron could not quite overcome the script’s shortcomings.
17 August 2026
Trigger warnings: Alcoholism. Physical abuse. Sexual situation with a minor.
Spoilery rants below:
*Do Hee’s final actions against Yong Ha were understandable as he had started to show sexual interest in her. She did what she had to do to survive. But no rape kit or hospital visit? And they just kicked an underaged “rape” victim loose to go home by herself? Where was the concern for her when Young Nam was seen to be the problem?
Also, I have very real concerns about an underaged actor being in sexual scenes and sexualized.
The interviewers seemed to be very interested in Do Hee when the concern was she had been molested by Young Nam, but they had zero problem sending her home to a drunken guardian who beat the crap out of her as well as emotionally abused her. So as long as it was just daily physical and emotional abuse by a heterosexual man, that was okay?
Do Hee’s jealousy and possessiveness were dangerous, but understandable given her living conditions. Again, she needed therapy to understand what she was feeling and how to gain control over her violent outbursts. I still cannot comprehend them sending her home to a vicious guardian after the molestation charges or to an empty house after Yong Ha was arrested. Where was the care she so desperately needed? Also, Young Nam seemed to have no problem sending Do Hee home for the school year knowing nothing had changed at home with Yong Ha.
No concern that Do Hee could also be a murderer? Might have been self-defense but the film never said.
Lastly, the local police department didn’t seem to have a problem with having a woman as chief. They had no problem arresting her, even though they refused to arrest Yong Ha for his many crimes because he was integral to their local economy. At least the jerks who interrogated her apologized to her. This film could give a person whiplash.
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