Moonlit Winter () is a 2019 South Korean romantic drama film written and directed by Lim Dae-hyung. It stars Kim Hee-ae, Kim So-hye, Sung Yoo-bin, and Yūko Nakamura. The film had its world premiere as the closing film for the 24th Busan International Film Festival. It was released in South Korea on 14 November 2019.
Plot Following her divorce, Yoon-hee (Kim Hee-ae) and her teenage daughter Sae-bom (Kim So-hye) live together in the Korean countryside. Sae-bom discovers a romantic letter written to her mother by Jun (Yūko Nakamura), a Korean-Japanese woman who went to school with Yoon-hee in her youth. Though the relationship is long in the past and remains a deep secret, Sae-bom recognises her mother's unrelenting loneliness and hopes to comfort her.
Upon graduating high school, Sae-bom insists she and her mother take a celebratory holiday to Japan, knowing Jun resides in the quiet and snowy village of Otaru. There, Yoon-hee immediately seeks out Jun's home but is unable to approach her. Soon after, Yoon-hee reveals that she knows Sae-bom is aware an "old friend" lives in the village but admits they haven't reconnected.
In the local cafe, Sae-bom meets Jun's aunt Masako and asks her to tell Jun to come to the cafe the next morning. At home, Jun confesses to her aunt that she and Yoon-hee are together in her dreams. Meanwhile, Yoon-hee discovers Sae-bom's boyfriend Kyung-soo has secretly come along to Otaru.
The next day, Sae-bom meets Jun and lies that her mother is not with her. She coordinates for Jun to "meet her for dinner" and Yoon-hee to "pick her up" at the same time and location. Saebom's plan works: the two women meet, overwhelmed by emotion, and walk along the canal together.
A final letter from Yoon-hee to Jun is revealed, in which she shares that she confessed her love for Jun to her parents, who sent her to a mental hospital. Later, she married a man set up for her by her brother, who she resents. On her wedding day, she thought of Jun; when strangers wish her happiness, she thinks of Jun. She concludes the two were never wrong for their love and should feel no shame.
Yoon-hee and Sae-bom move to Seoul, where Sae-bom attends university and Yoon-hee uses her newfound courage to open a restaurant.
Cast Kim Hee-ae as Yoon-hee Kim So-hye as Sae-bom Sung Yoo-bin as Kyung-soo Yūko Nakamura as Jun Katase Hana Kino as Masako
Accolades Year Award Category Recipient(s) Result 2019 Cine 21 Awards Best Film Moonlit Winter 2020 56th Grand Bell Awards Best Actress Kim Hee-ae 7th Wildflower Film Awards Grand Prize Lim Dae-hyung Best Director Best Producer Park Doo-hee 25th Chunsa Film Art Awards Best Director Lim Dae-hyung Best Actress Kim Hee-ae Best Screenplay Lim Dae-hyung Best New Actress Kim So-hye 56th Baeksang Arts Awards Best Actress Kim Hee-ae Best New Actress Kim So-hye Best Screenplay Lim Dae-hyung Florence Korea Film FestBest FilmMoonlit Winter 29th Buil Film Awards Best DirectorLim Dae-hyung Best ActressKim Hee-ae Best New ActressKim So-hye 40th Korean Association of Film Critics AwardsBest DirectorLim Dae-hyung Best Screenplay Best SoundtrackKim Hae-won Top 10 FilmsMoonlit Winter 21st Busan Film Critics AwardsBest New ActressKim So-hye 7th Korean Film Producers Association AwardsBest ActressKim Hee-ae 202141st Blue Dragon Film AwardsBest FilmMoonlit WinterBest DirectorLim Dae-hyungBest Leading ActressKim Hee-aeBest New ActressKim So-hyeBest ScreenplayLim Dae-hyungBest EditingPark Se-youngBest MusicKim Hae-won40th Golden Cinema Film FestivalBest New ActressKim So-hye
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