Movie Until the Stones Speak 

As we listen to the harrowing life stories of these elderly women, we are inevitably overcome with sorrow and anger. Yet, at the same time, we are deeply moved by their resilience, integrity, and unwavering belief in humanity, despite everything they have endured. One survivor’s daughter, who appears alongside her mother in the interviews, speaks about her mother with the following words:

"Because she lived through April 3, my mother never missed a single second of the hearings on the Gwangju Democratization Movement. She watched every session without exception. That’s because what happened then was exactly the same as what she had endured. Even when most people were referring to it as the ‘Gwangju Incident,’ she insisted that it wasn’t just an incident… Going through suffering at the hands of the soldiers during April 3, she couldn’t look away—not for a single day."

Listening to testimonies of tragic events takes immense courage, as it brings both mental and physical anguish. Yet, for the voices of these 'stones' to finally be heard, even greater courage was needed, and the wait was unbearably long. Perhaps it is our duty, as those living in the present, to truly listen now that these voices have finally reached us.

Of course, a single film or novel cannot change the world. Expecting such a thing is nothing more than a fantasy. However, the awareness embedded in a film or a book can take root in the subconscious of each viewer or reader, becoming internalized and later reproduced in various ways across time and space. Perhaps this is what writer Han Kang described as “the dead saving the living.”

Movie Until the Stones Speak 

As we listen to the harrowing life stories of these elderly women, we are inevitably overcome with sorrow and anger. Yet, at the same time, we are deeply moved by their resilience, integrity, and unwavering belief in humanity, despite everything they have endured. One survivor’s daughter, who appears alongside her mother in the interviews, speaks about her mother with the following words:

"Because she lived through April 3, my mother never missed a single second of the hearings on the Gwangju Democratization Movement. She watched every session without exception. That’s because what happened then was exactly the same as what she had endured. Even when most people were referring to it as the ‘Gwangju Incident,’ she insisted that it wasn’t just an incident… Going through suffering at the hands of the soldiers during April 3, she couldn’t look away—not for a single day."

Listening to testimonies of tragic events takes immense courage, as it brings both mental and physical anguish. Yet, for the voices of these 'stones' to finally be heard, even greater courage was needed, and the wait was unbearably long. Perhaps it is our duty, as those living in the present, to truly listen now that these voices have finally reached us.

Of course, a single film or novel cannot change the world. Expecting such a thing is nothing more than a fantasy. However, the awareness embedded in a film or a book can take root in the subconscious of each viewer or reader, becoming internalized and later reproduced in various ways across time and space. Perhaps this is what writer Han Kang described as “the dead saving the living.”

Lastly, I recall the faint sense of hope I felt amid the anxiety and turmoil of the bitterly cold winter of December 2024. The late Professor Seo Kyung-sik once explained that the etymology of "hope(희망)" comes from the Chinese characters 희(希), meaning "scarce," and 망(望), meaning "absent."  He described hope as “something that barely exists, yet something we must continue to walk toward.” Hope is the act of feeling our way forward through darkness. Through this process, we can imagine the darkness that others endure and learn from "the strength of those who walk through that darkness." In this respect, Until the Stones Speak would serve as a powerful guide to experiencing this very strength of hope.

Lastly, I recall the faint sense of hope I felt amid the anxiety and turmoil of the bitterly cold winter of December 2024. The late Professor Seo Kyung-sik once explained that the etymology of "hope(희망)" comes from the Chinese characters 희(希), meaning "scarce," and 망(望), meaning "absent."  He described hope as “something that barely exists, yet something we must continue to walk toward.” Hope is the act of feeling our way forward through darkness. Through this process, we can imagine the darkness that others endure and learn from "the strength of those who walk through that darkness." In this respect, Until the Stones Speak would serve as a powerful guide to experiencing this very strength of hope.

• Until the Stones Speak, 2024

• Genre: Documentary
• Directed by: Kim Kyungman
• Awards: 18th Jeju Film Festival (Jeju T'mung Competition), 14th DMZ International Documentary Film Festival (Brave Goose Award)