Asian Drama

Reminiscent of the film FREQUENCY, DITTO follows high-school students So-eun (Kim Ha-neul) and In (Yoo Ji-tae) as they realize that they can never be together. So-eun, living in 1979 South Korea, begins making transmissions on a ham radio and contacts In, who unbeknownst to her lives in the year 2000. The two find that they attend the same high school, and still not aware of the time warp, strike up friendship and a romance. In addition to the timeless love story, this film is significant in its exploration of cultural identity and politics.

Somewhere in Seoul, Jung Won runs a small shabby photo studio. A humble shack passed down from his widower father, the studio is a space where Jung Won goes about with his daily routine of dealing with fussy customers, enlarging photos of class heartthrobs for the neighbourhood kids and photographing pictures to place on funeral altars. For Jung Won, life seems to be a series of peaceful events, but in reality, his time on earth is too limited for comfort. Barely in his mid-30's but perhaps too aware of the meaning of death, Jung Won accepts his fate despite the subtle gestures of concern coming from his old father and younger sister.

Life goes on as usual until, one day, he meets Da Rim, who works at the Traffic Control Division of the local district office and who is a regular customer at the studio. Her daily visits to develop snapshots of parking violations and her somewhat bold attempts to capture his attention stirs a feeling inside Jung Won with which he deals in anticipation. As his health gradually deteriorates, Jung Won is faced with the painful duty of bidding farewell to family, friends, to the studio and Darim.