Key Points
- 'Night Bloomers' is now showing on SBS Viceland and SBS on Demand.
- The five-part series is based on the personal experiences of Korean Australians.
- Creator, writer and director Andrew Undi Lee aimed to delve into the darker aspects of the Korean diaspora, 'providing a safe platform for creative expression'.
Night Bloomers first aired in time for Halloween. But while the five-part anthology – created and directed by Andrew Undi Lee – contains its fair share of supernatural frights, it’s grounded in the immigration experiences of Australia’s Korean diaspora.
The creepy storylines are partly drawn from the experiences recalled by a creative team made up of Mr Lee and fellow Korean Australian media professionals Suzanne Kim and Ra Chapman.
In one episode, a mother and daughter attempt to engage in a Korean ancestral rite called jesa for the first time after migrating to Australia.
Typically performed on holidays such as Lunar New Year, Chuseok (Korean full moon day) or death anniversaries, jesa is a solemn memorial service in which food is offered to the souls of the deceased.
But when things don’t go to plan, the protagonists end up summoning an unexpected spirit.
Suzanne Kim (centre) directing the fifth episode of Night Bloomers. Source: Supplied / Night Bloomers
"My mum wasn't used to the formality and order of jesa, so she made mistakes while performing it. It was very awkward to watch, and yet funny. It was heartbreaking to see her trying so hard, so I thought it could be an interesting drama subject," she said.
For Mr Lee, too, the series is a reflection of his upbringing.
"I am gay, and I am Korean Australian. So, we have a certain position in this community, which was difficult growing up in the ‘90s and ‘00s. My sisters grew up also having difficulty with their identities: being either too Korean within the Australian community or not Korean enough for the Korean community," Mr Lee said.
Andrew Undi Lee directing the first episode of Night Bloomers, Striking Hair Pin. Source: Supplied / Night Bloomers
‘A safe space for expression’
The supernatural storylines include a depiction of a mudang (shaman) conducting a ritual to send away spirits through a dance called salpuri, and a goblin being called into a house after someone picks up a piece of mysterious trash.
These are set to the backdrop of multigenerational immigration experiences, whether it’s elderly migrants feeling lonely, children being pressured by their parents to succeed or Vietnam War veterans suffering PTSD.
Mr Lee said he wanted to shed light on these untold aspects of the Korean diaspora.
We don't often talk about the difficulties that we've had to go through. We often focus on the successes and the progress, and I think maybe through these projects we were able to have a safe space to explore and express them artistically on screen.Andrew Undi Lee
Mr Lee's parents came to Australia in the 1970s from Jellanam-do, in southwest Korea.
His mother was a folk singer and his father a Vietnam War veteran and taekwondo master who opened the first Korean martial arts studio in Sydney.
While born and raised in Australia, Mr Lee was exposed to Korean culture and folklore from a young age.
"If I started crying when I was little, my aunties and mother would say things like ‘ebi (a type of monster) will come and eat your penis off’, and I would be terrified," he said.
Andrew Undi Lee with his father Nae-Ham, mother Kil-Sook, and two older sisters Julianna and Katie in Sydney celebrating his Dol (first birthday). Source: Supplied / Andrew Undi Lee
"Even though my language is kind of terrible, the Korean traditions and storytelling were always instilled in me because my family were still incredibly proud of their identity and wanted to retain that for me when I was growing up," he said.
A breakthrough for Korean Australian voices
According to the 2021 Census, there are 105,560 Korean descendants living in Australia.
It is the 15th largest overseas-born population, while the numbers of second and third-generation Korean Australians are also growing.
But Mr Lee said this hasn’t been reflected in Australian literature, television or film.
In 2021, ABC released a children's drama, Born to Spy, featuring a Korean Australian family of spies. Although Mr Lee participated in the production as a writer along with several crew members from the diaspora, it was not a creation of Korean Australians.
Mr Lee said Night Bloomers is different.
"Night Bloomers was created by Korean Australians and written by Korean Australians, and all the actors were Korean Australians. So, I guess that adds another level of authenticity and ownership of our narratives," he said.
Night Bloomers's crew and cast members. Source: Supplied / Night Bloomers
Helen Kim, who plays the character of Hannah, the daughter who struggled with the jesa ritual, said the experience was a special one.
"I was so amazed that I was able to act in Korean with a Korean director, writer and fellow actors, and that such a work is now being aired on Australian TV with subtitles," she said.
Helen Kim plays Hana in the fifth episode of Night Bloomers. Source: Supplied / Night Bloomers
A changing landscape
Charles An, who has key acting roles in two episodes, is another who is taken aback by the project.
"For me, it's not about 'I can participate in a Korean project'. It's more like, 'Is this project possible in Australia?' It's so unreal to me, which made me realise that Australia has changed so much," he said.
Mr An began acting after finishing high school, but had to give up on his dream for a while due to a lack of opportunities.
"Just because they already have an Asian, the agencies told me that, 'We are fine. We have someone like you'. But from an Asian perspective, he has a Filipino look, and we have different skin colours and feel different. But I was rejected because the agency already had an Asian," Mr An said.
Korean Australian actor Charles An as paramedic Simon in Night Bloomers. Source: Supplied / Night Bloomers
These days, Korean content is very popular on Netflix and Disney+, so people are seeing Asians on the screen. People are curious about Koreans and Korean culture, so we’re seeing that reflected in the content now.Charles An
Macquarie University lecturer Dr Sung-Ae Lee, who mainly researches Korean literature, film and television, agrees.
"Having talented people is important, or such a project could not happen. However – to say the obvious – there also has to be a potential audience, which has largely been produced by the global reach of K-drama," she said, while saying that audience still has room to grow.
Dr Sung-Ae Lee, lecturer of Department of Media, Communications, Creative Arts, Language and Literature at Macquarie University. Source: Supplied / Dr Sung-Ae Lee
Culture: To preserve or not to preserve?
Dr Lee said Night Bloomers reflects the ongoing debate within the diaspora about preserving traditional culture in a rapidly changing world.
Referring to the depiction of jesa in one episode, she said the mother and daughter are punished for forgetting their culture, while a granddaughter character eventually Googles the rules of the tradition.
"The series is thus bookended by the problem of whether a diaspora can, or should, attempt to preserve traditional culture – as this series is doing rather ambiguously," Dr Lee said.
Creator Mr Lee appears comfortable with this ambiguity.
"If our level of knowledge of language and culture is not as high as others, we are still Korean, and we are still Australian. And then by the same token, having knowledge of Korean culture and language won't save us or make us more Korean," he said.
"What's most important is the relationships within our families. It's beyond culture and language."
Director Andrew Undi Lee with actor Charles An playing a goblin in Night Bloomers. Source: Supplied / Night Bloomers
