32-year-old Siheon, a delivery worker at Eurwangni Beach, is soon to be a college student. One day, as he is congratulated by the aunties at the restaurant, a Japanese man approaches and informs him his mother is dead. 30-year-old Ryota is the son of Siheon’s mother who left young Siheon and have a new family of her own in Japan. The brothers who met for the first time and Siheon’s friend Yejin head to Siheon’s old house in Chinatown where his mother’s trinkets are buried. Reflecting on the hidden life of the family that one parted is a common theme of director BANG Sungjun’s work. In his short About Magnolia (2017), the son connects with his father’s spirit, and in Passing Over The Hill (2018), the mother discovers her dead son’s poem and finds the warmth to continue living. Walking Backwards is a road movie that looks back on the childhood that Siheon has turned away. The director’s affection toward Incheon where he has filmed most of his works reminds us again how beautiful this city is. [NA Wonjeong]