The Nam family leads a life of upper-middle class luxury. But this wealth lies on unstable foundations, and when the father dies suddenly, Jung-hee (Choi Eun-hee), as the new head of the family, finds herself with steep debts and no source of income. At last, she must decide on something that riskier than before.
“A Sister’s Garden,” directed by Shin Sang-ok, stands as one of the hit melodramas he crafted in the late 1950s. Featuring Choi Eun-hee’s typically captivating performance as the modest and soft-spoken Jung-hee, the film offers a compelling glimpse into family life during that era. The 1950s marked an era when Western material goods flooded the consumer market, offering viewers the pleasure of witnessing the opulent lifestyles of the wealthy. Indeed, many Korean films from this period depict the burgeoning material culture and rapid Westernization of society. “A Sister’s Garden” epitomizes this trend, while also displaying a nuanced perspective on the capitalist system Korea eagerly embraced.