Back to the Soil 2004
Distributed by First Run/Icarus Films, 32 Court St., 21st Floor, Brooklyn, NY 11201; 800-876-1710
Producer n/a
Directed by Kwon Woo-jung
VHS, color, 84 min.
Sr. High - Adult
Agriculture, Economics, International Relations, Multicultural Studies
Date Entered: 03/08/2007
Reviewed by Buzz Haughton, Shields Library, University of California at DavisThis film concentrates on the lives of a family headed by Lee Geun Hyuk, who left Seoul, South Korea, for a chancy career as a family farmer in one of the world’s countries most wedded to the concept of globalization of capitalism. The film chronicles his trials and tribulations trying to buck the strong movements toward international agricultural trade in his home country. The film demonstrates how difficult it is, even for well-educated and determined individuals, to displace the massive influx of cheap agricultural commodities in the world economic order. Highly recommended for libraries with audiovisual collections in agriculture, globalization and agricultural economics.