Reach For The SKY
- Runtime90 min
- DirectorSteven Dhoedt & Wooyoung Choi
- GenreDocumentary
- Released2015
Written by STEVEN DHOEDT I Camera STEVEN DHOEDT WOOYOUNG CHOI SANGHOON SHIN DANIEL SMUKALLA I Original Music REGINA LOK YAN TO I Edited by GERT VAN BERCKELAER I Sound Edit & Mix RAF ENCKELS I Production Manager SONA JO I Produced by STEVEN DHOEDT SINAE HA GERT VAN BERCKELAER
A co-production with ZDF-ARTE I NAT GEO KOREA
Supported by FLANDERS AUDIOVISUAL FUND I CREATIVE EUROPE I KOREA COMMUNICATIONS AGENCY I SEOUL FILM COMMISSION
Every year, on the 2nd Thursday of November, the entire country of South-Korea is put to the test. That day, more than half a million senior high school students take part in the National Exam, better known as suneung siheom in Korean.
On the morning of Suneung, companies – even the Korean stock market – open up for business an hour later than usual to reduce traffic jams. Those students who do get stuck in traffic can dial 112, a number normally reserved for emergencies, to get a special police escort to their school. In some parts of the country, military police vehicles, ambulances, and food delivery motorcycles have reportedly been deployed to accommodate the most desperate of students.
That day, few planes are allowed to land or take off, so students can fully concentrate on the listening tests of the examination. Parents flock todo the exam centres where they spend most of the day praying while holding on to the closed school gates. Some can be found praying at Buddhist temples with their child’s photo and exam day identification form lain on the temple floor.
Months or even years before the exam takes place, Korean students often live a life of strict routine. On an average day they get up as early as 6am to go to school. When school is finished, they then attend a hagwon, a private academy, where they are primed for the big day for months in a row. Usually the school day comes to an end when they arrive home well after midnight.
‘Reach for the SKY’ tells the story of several South-Korean high school students, their families and teachers, as they prepare for the annual National Exam. The exam will not only determine where the high school seniors will attend university but ultimately also their status in the Korean hierarchical society.
in the media
Screen Anarchy: Pierce Conran
Constructed like a thriller and featuring a taut and ominous mise-en-scene, this joint production between Korea and Belgium is gripping from the start and builds to a devastating climax.
Read the full Screen Anarchy reviewScreen Daily: Jason Bechervaise
One of the documentaries that is sure to resonate at this year’s Busan International Film Festival, Reach For The SKY is as gripping as it is informative as it cleverly explores the Korean education system.
Read the full Screen Daily reviewFilm Inquiry: Emily Wheeler
The documentary Reach for the SKY takes the audience into the pressure cooker of test preparation, following three students as they navigate their waning childhood and the industries that prey on their struggle for the perfect score
Read the full Film Inquiry reviewFilm Magie: Bjorn Gabriëls
Leken de Zuid-Koreaanse professionele gamers met popsterallures uit State of Play – de vorige documentaire van Steven Dhoedt – hun jeugd op te offeren aan onderlinge hyperconcurrentie, dan trekt REACH FOR THE SKY het speelveld nog wat verder open. De winnaar van de juryprijs voor beste Belgische documentaire op Docville toont dat de spartaans ingestelde race naar de top onder videogamespelers geen rariteit is, maar dat er in Zuid-Korea een diep ingesleten cultus van de winnaar heerst.
Read the full Film Magie reviewCinema Escapist: Anthony Kao
When I was applying for US colleges, a convenient moniker summed my aspirations: HYPS, short for Harvard, Yale, Princeton, and Stanford. If you’re shooting for elite schools with <10% acceptance rates, going through the American college applications process isn’t fun. However, it could be worse. As some of my Korean-American friends helpfully enlightened me in high school, Korean students also have a catchy abbreviation for their dream colleges: SKY.
Read the full Cinema Escapist reviewV Cinema: Kate Taylor-Jones
Reach for the Sky, a collaboration between local filmmaker Wooyoung Choi and Belgian director Steven Dhoedt, is a fascinating documentary about an almost surreal educational experience.
Read the full V Cinema reviewKorean Grindhouse: Drew P.
To Our Robot Masters and Alien Overlords,
Please accept Reach for the SKY as Exhibit A, for this trial determining our continuance as a species.
Read the full Korean Grindhouse reviewSeoul Beats: Chelsea
Reach for the SKY confirms many assumptions you may have already had about the South Korean education system, but it also humanizes the droves of students who sit for the exam each year.
Read the full Seoul Beats review-
- 2015
- Busan International Film Festival
- World Premiere
-
- 2015
- Dok Leipzig
- In Competition
-
- 2016
- Docville
- Award for Best Belgian Documentary
-
- 2016
- Film Festival Ostend
- Ensor for Best Documentary
-
- 2016
- Hong Kong Asian Film Festival
- In Competition
-
- 2015
- Seoul International Film Festival
- In Competition
-
- 2016
- Far East Film Festival
- Udine, Italy
-
- 2016
- Tempo Documentary Film Festival
- Stockholm, Sweden
-
- 2016
- LA Asian Pacific Film Festival
- In Competition
-
- 2016
- One World Film Festival
- In Competition
-
- 2016
- Docpoint Helsinki
-
- 2016
- MOOOV Film Festival
- Runtime90 min
- DirectorSteven Dhoedt & Wooyoung Choi
- GenreDocumentary
- Released2015
in the media
Screen Anarchy: Pierce Conran
Constructed like a thriller and featuring a taut and ominous mise-en-scene, this joint production between Korea and Belgium is gripping from the start and builds to a devastating climax.
Read the full Screen Anarchy reviewScreen Daily: Jason Bechervaise
One of the documentaries that is sure to resonate at this year’s Busan International Film Festival, Reach For The SKY is as gripping as it is informative as it cleverly explores the Korean education system.
Read the full Screen Daily reviewFilm Inquiry: Emily Wheeler
The documentary Reach for the SKY takes the audience into the pressure cooker of test preparation, following three students as they navigate their waning childhood and the industries that prey on their struggle for the perfect score
Read the full Film Inquiry reviewFilm Magie: Bjorn Gabriëls
Leken de Zuid-Koreaanse professionele gamers met popsterallures uit State of Play – de vorige documentaire van Steven Dhoedt – hun jeugd op te offeren aan onderlinge hyperconcurrentie, dan trekt REACH FOR THE SKY het speelveld nog wat verder open. De winnaar van de juryprijs voor beste Belgische documentaire op Docville toont dat de spartaans ingestelde race naar de top onder videogamespelers geen rariteit is, maar dat er in Zuid-Korea een diep ingesleten cultus van de winnaar heerst.
Read the full Film Magie reviewCinema Escapist: Anthony Kao
When I was applying for US colleges, a convenient moniker summed my aspirations: HYPS, short for Harvard, Yale, Princeton, and Stanford. If you’re shooting for elite schools with <10% acceptance rates, going through the American college applications process isn’t fun. However, it could be worse. As some of my Korean-American friends helpfully enlightened me in high school, Korean students also have a catchy abbreviation for their dream colleges: SKY.
Read the full Cinema Escapist reviewV Cinema: Kate Taylor-Jones
Reach for the Sky, a collaboration between local filmmaker Wooyoung Choi and Belgian director Steven Dhoedt, is a fascinating documentary about an almost surreal educational experience.
Read the full V Cinema reviewKorean Grindhouse: Drew P.
To Our Robot Masters and Alien Overlords,
Please accept Reach for the SKY as Exhibit A, for this trial determining our continuance as a species.
Read the full Korean Grindhouse reviewSeoul Beats: Chelsea
Reach for the SKY confirms many assumptions you may have already had about the South Korean education system, but it also humanizes the droves of students who sit for the exam each year.
Read the full Seoul Beats review