Scoundrels

Eungchil leads the carefree life of a vagabond, gambler, and thief. His brother Eungo, on the other hand, is a model citizen and peasant, but life has dealt him a poor hand: his wife struggles with a long illness and he can barely make ends meet. Knowing that there will be nothing left for him and his wife after paying the various taxes and fees, he doesn’t even bother to harvest his rice. Just when it seems that things could not get worse for Eungo, a thief comes in the night and steals the rice. Fearing the blame will fall on him, Eungchil sets out to catch the thief red-handed. This tale of two brothers by Kim Yu-jeong paints a vivid and painfully accurate picture of the hardships faced by Korean peasants in the early 20th century.