Family planning - Mission Sex Control

Sorry for the long delay. Let's start off with one of the funnier Korean comedies that has been released in a while, Mission Sex Control. Awful title, but it explains the plot of the film: in 1961, the South Korean government became concerned about the population explosion that was occurring (their version of the Baby Boom). They felt that they needed to take measures to curb the growth, so they initiated a family planning program that would make the citizens aware of birth control methods. The other point was to show that people could lead healthier and wealthier lives if they were not so busy having children, which kept them in debt. Hyeon-joo (played by Kim Jeong-eun) is an enthusiastic young woman
who is sent to a local village where it harks back to pre modern times - there is a village chief, but the real power lies with the land owner, who everyone in the town works for by tending to the land. All of them have large families, with no stopping in sight. Helping her to the village is a townsman named Suk-gu (Lee Beom-soo), who is having difficulties making payments to the land owner for rent on his house. There is also a matter of paying for tuition for the kids, and keeping her wife happy. Hyeon-joo introduces herself to the village, and gives a lecture on what the government want to do to help them. But they are horrified at the very idea of birth control - not only is it government interference on personal matters, it goes against the Korean notion of family. Undeterred, she returns, again and again, to the women of the village, to the men, the the village chief, and finally the landlord, all of whom refuse her offer. The only one who becomes receptive to her ideas is Suk-gu, who is now close to defaulting on paying his loans. He wants to end this cycle of debt, and agrees to listen, and manages to convince a few of his friends as well. She teaches them to use condoms, and gives the wives birth control pills. Slowly but surely, she makes progress, but runs into interference from the landowner's son, who sees her as a trouble maker. She gets around this by recommending that Suk-gu be appointed village head, and he does. He is a good leader, and manages to convince the others to fall in line with the family planning, convincing them that they will attain wealth this way. The sudden drop in births in the town catches the goverment's notice, especially the South Korean president. They are made the model town and citizens for conforming to the plan. It has a price though -- Suk-gu, in order to maintain their credibility, kicks out a couple for conceiving. The stress and the intense need to conform to this law drives everyone nuts, and then Suk-gu's wife is pregnant. Convinced that he isn't the father, he beats her and chases her out of the house. Later someone finds a shoe at a cliff known for suicide leaps, and Suk-gu is distraught. Actually, she is hiding at the landowner's house. They are reunited, and they leave the town as they have broken their own rule. Hyeon-joo goes back to the city, quits her job, realizing that there is a happy medium, of carefully planning for children with a loved one, but a couple at best.

Light hearted, silly and fun, this comedy entertains while poking fun at a well intentioned government plan to keep the population under control. The clash between country and city is well defined and delivered. Recommended!