‘Miracle: Letters To The President’ Brings A Moving Story To US Screens

Joon-kyeong, the protagonist in Miracle: Letters to the President, lives in a village so remote that getting to the nearest train station can be a matter of life or death. Trains run through his village but they do not stop there. To reach school and other amenities, the villagers have to walk on the railroad tracks and, given the unpredictable train schedule, such walks sometimes end in tragedy. Joon-kyeong, played by Park Jung-min, has a dream. It’s the only dream he dares to have, but he’s committed. He wants to build a train station in his village so no more lives are lost.

Miracle: Letters to the President is a fictionalized account of the building of Yangwon station in North Gyeongsang Province. South Korea’s only privately built train station opened in 1988 and remained open until 2012 when transportation to the area improved. Set in the 1980s, the film is a hopeful tale about the importance of staying true to a dream.

Joon-kyeong repeatedly writes the president of Korea, asking him to authorize a train station for his village, but never gets a response. When he starts high school, his commute via the railroad tracks is dangerous and time consuming. Fortunately, the long commute does not affect his studies. He’s a math prodigy. 

New possibilities begin to materialize for Joon-kyeong after he meets his enthusiastic high school classmate Ra-hee, played by Im Yoona. She’s a strong believer in pursuing dreams and she wants to be his muse.

His father, played by Lee Sung-min, is a railroad engineer and the two don’t spend much time together. Yet, when Joon-Kyeong is offered a promising escape from their remote village he’s reluctant to leave. It’s Joon-kyeong’s relationship to his sister that constitutes the emotional core of the film and realizing the extent of that relationship provides a new perspective on his decisions.

Miracle: Letters to the President will be released on Sept. 15 in South Korea, but will also be screened in the US a few days later. OnDemandKorea (ODK) will present the film on Sept. 17 in California at CGV Los Angeles and CGV Buena Park theaters, as well as in Fairfax, Virginia. More screenings are planned for Vancouver, Seattle, San Francisco, New York and New Jersey and the film will eventually also air on the streaming platform.

The film’s star, Park Jung-min, is best known for his roles in the films  Bleak Night, Time To Hunt, and Deliver Us From Evil. He can soon be seen in the Netflix NFLX drama Hellbound.

Im Yoona, a member of the k-pop group Girls Generation, recently appeared in the films Exit and Confidential Assignment 2. She also appeared in the drama Hush and will play a role in the drama Big Mouse.

Actor Lee Sung-min appeared in the films The Man Standing Next and Mr. Zoo. This year he appears in the drama Juvenile Judgment and next he will appear in the drama The Chaebol’s Youngest Son.

Lee Soo-kyung, who plays Joon-kyeong’s sister Bo-Kyeong, appeared in the films Mr. Zoo and The Odd Family: Zombies on Sale, as well as in the dramas Law School and Where Stars Land.

In Miracle: Letters to the President, director Lee Jang-hoon has created a moving story about the power of determination.