Like a Virgin

Oh Dong-gu is a high school student, a trans girl, living with a violent father who drinks. She is trying to save the money for gender confirmation surgery, and the heavy, badly paid work she takes on makes that look impossible. When she hears that a large cash prize goes to the champion of ssireum, traditional Korean wrestling, she starts taking an interest in the sport, and the fact that wrestling measures balance rather than strength turns into a figure for her own situation. Lee Hae-jun and Lee Hae-young wrote and directed the hundred and seventeen minute South Korean film together, and Ryu Deok-hwan won several domestic awards for the lead performance along with an Asia Pacific Screen Award nomination. Baek Yoon-sik and Kim Yun-seok appear alongside.