This story out of the Times of India tells us about an award winning documentary about a young woman who suddenly realizes that her father had been raping her since childhood. Such is South Korea's attitude toward sex abuse that she didn't even know that what her father did was wrong. South Korea, in many ways is a very modern country, but in some ways - not so much.
NEW DELHI: Dolphin (name changed) was 21 years old when she first realized that her father had been molesting and raping her since childhood. The young woman from South Korea got to know about it only when she chanced upon a book meant for children, educating them on the good and bad touch.
She fought and won the case against her father alone, after her family disowned her for her allegations.
She tells her story, the camera following her from streets to the court, in the documentary film — My No Mercy Home. For director Aori aka Choi Mikyung, finding a subject like Dolphin, the name given to the girl in the film, was difficult. "In South Korea, people don't talk about sexual assault. It is considered a matter of shame," It should be, of course, but for the rapist, not the victim.
Aori told TOI through a translator. Dolphin herself had approached Aori at a panel discussion on sexual violence. "She wanted to tell her story. She didn't think it was taboo," says Aori.
The film, which took three years in the making until May 2013, had its world premiere on Friday at the International Association of Women in Radio & Television film festival in the capital.
Aori feels that there are many parallels in the Indian and South Korean societies. "The Korean community is essentially a family community. Most rapes are committed by acquaintances and women are hesitant to report," says the 40-year-old, adding, "at least 4% of the total reported cases in South Korea are of rape within the family".
Dolphin had first told her mother about the series of incidents. Her reaction left her with no option but to move out immediately. "She asked me, 'Didn't you enjoy it?", Dolphin recalls in the film. Unbelievable!
Her mother then asked her to forgive her father to save the marriage. Dolphin then dropped out of school and began to live in a shelter for survivors of sexual violence. She started legal proceedings against her father, who later accused her of "seducing" him in court. She also lost favour with her two sisters.
Aori says though sex education is routine in South Korean schools, counsellors can be insensitive and are often not well-trained. She feels it could be one of the reasons that Dolphin was well beyond adulthood before she realized what had been happening.
In the film, Dolphin recalls that initially her father had told her he was "checking to see if she was healthy" and later that he was "teaching her". "It wasn't that she felt nothing was out of place. She felt uncomfortable but did not understand the seriousness of the matter," says Aori, whose film has won three local awards in South Korea.
Reactions to the story, she says, have been sharply divided in her home country. "When I screened the film in Seoul, Dolphin was present. Men in the audience told her they felt ashamed and wanted to know if she was okay. In two other screenings in smaller towns, older women abused Dolphin and saw her as the offender for breaking up the family," says Aori.
Dolphin now lives with a friend, supported by a part-time job at a restaurant. She failed her university entrance exam, but hasn't given up. She can hardly be expected to.
NEW DELHI: Dolphin (name changed) was 21 years old when she first realized that her father had been molesting and raping her since childhood. The young woman from South Korea got to know about it only when she chanced upon a book meant for children, educating them on the good and bad touch.
She fought and won the case against her father alone, after her family disowned her for her allegations.
She tells her story, the camera following her from streets to the court, in the documentary film — My No Mercy Home. For director Aori aka Choi Mikyung, finding a subject like Dolphin, the name given to the girl in the film, was difficult. "In South Korea, people don't talk about sexual assault. It is considered a matter of shame," It should be, of course, but for the rapist, not the victim.
Aori told TOI through a translator. Dolphin herself had approached Aori at a panel discussion on sexual violence. "She wanted to tell her story. She didn't think it was taboo," says Aori.
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| Choi Mikyung |
Aori feels that there are many parallels in the Indian and South Korean societies. "The Korean community is essentially a family community. Most rapes are committed by acquaintances and women are hesitant to report," says the 40-year-old, adding, "at least 4% of the total reported cases in South Korea are of rape within the family".
Dolphin had first told her mother about the series of incidents. Her reaction left her with no option but to move out immediately. "She asked me, 'Didn't you enjoy it?", Dolphin recalls in the film. Unbelievable!
Her mother then asked her to forgive her father to save the marriage. Dolphin then dropped out of school and began to live in a shelter for survivors of sexual violence. She started legal proceedings against her father, who later accused her of "seducing" him in court. She also lost favour with her two sisters.
Aori says though sex education is routine in South Korean schools, counsellors can be insensitive and are often not well-trained. She feels it could be one of the reasons that Dolphin was well beyond adulthood before she realized what had been happening.
In the film, Dolphin recalls that initially her father had told her he was "checking to see if she was healthy" and later that he was "teaching her". "It wasn't that she felt nothing was out of place. She felt uncomfortable but did not understand the seriousness of the matter," says Aori, whose film has won three local awards in South Korea.
Reactions to the story, she says, have been sharply divided in her home country. "When I screened the film in Seoul, Dolphin was present. Men in the audience told her they felt ashamed and wanted to know if she was okay. In two other screenings in smaller towns, older women abused Dolphin and saw her as the offender for breaking up the family," says Aori.
Dolphin now lives with a friend, supported by a part-time job at a restaurant. She failed her university entrance exam, but hasn't given up. She can hardly be expected to.
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