Since the Korean War, some women who are struggling to make ends meet have come to what’s known as 'American Alley', an area in South Korea offering adult entertainment and more to nearby US military camps. Some marry the soldiers, others are abandoned. In this documentary, director Kim Dong-ryung speaks to elder Korean women about their history with 'American Alley', while also investigating the contemporary hardship of immigrant women who provide sex work under unsafe conditions.

After the screening, director Kim Dong-ryung will be in conversation with Dr. Ungsan Kim from University of Washington. The talk will be conducted in English.

This free screening is co-organised by M+ and the Department of Digital Arts and Creative Industries at Lingnan University as part of the Korean Film Conference. Seats are available on a first-come, first-served basis.

Kim Dong-ryung (b. 1977, South Korea) started documenting the daily lives of US military camp towns with photography and moving images in 2004. She released her first feature-length documentary American Alley in 2009 and won the Ogawa Shinsuske Prize at the Yamagata International Documentary Film Festival (YIDFF). Soon after, she and Park Kyoung-tae co-directed Tour of Duty (2013), which won the Special Prize at YIDFF. Her most recent film is the docufiction The Pregnant Tree and the Goblin (2019).