South Korea has a vibrant queer scene, particularly in buzzing Seoul. The mainstream society remains fairly conservative, though, and many queer people remain in the closet there. 3670, a new drama by director Joonho Park, explores this from the perspective of Kim Cheol-jun (You-hyun Cho), a handsome North Korean defector who escaped to South Korea a couple of years earlier.

Cheol-jun is luckier than some. Firstly, he survived three days of arduous non-stop rowing across the sea, and landing on a mine-filled beach, to get to freedom in South Korea. Then he has a job in a convenience store, an aunt living in the city, and a small friend network of fellow North Korea defectors. He is, however, gay and living in the closet. When in North Korea, he had no idea that gay people even existed. He’s 27 now and wants to change that. He has the occasional hook-up, but they don’t want to take things further, even as friends, so he’s very much alone with his sexuality.

One hook-up advises him to join a gay social group. He meets them one night and is slightly overwhelmed by the banter and sexual innuendo. The quiet, reserved Cheol-jun has no experience of socialising in this way, and doesn’t understand their reference points – sex, music, celebrities, jokes etc. The group, however, welcomes him gently.

A few days later one of the group, Yeong-jun (Kim Hyeon-mok), randomly comes into his store and the two connect. Thus begins Cheol-jun’s first proper gay friendship. Yeong-jun introduces Cheol-jun to his gay friends and soon they are hanging out together socially, at karaoke, birthday parties and dance clubs. The initially awkward Cheol-jun gradually relaxes as the group teaches him how to sing, dance, laugh, etc and before long, he is showing off his amazing body in a harness on the dancefloor at Seoul’s fabulous Eagle nightclub.

So far, so good, but then cracks start appearing in his relationship with Yeong-jun, as well as with his North Korean friends, with whom he remains in the closet and increasingly distant. His aunt also announces that she is leaving town, and his university application is progressing very slowly. How are things going to pan out for Cheol-jun?

Park has created a realistic drama about the lonely journey millions of people across the world make as they arrive in big cities as a stranger without social networks. It’s obviously tougher for Cheol-jun as he’s both unfamiliar with social customs and a gay man in the closet in a conservative society. This makes his journey all the more interesting. You-hyun Cho is excellent as the quiet, reserved man on a journey to try and find his feet. Kim Hyeon-mok is also very good as his slightly hapless mentor, who has his own issues with self-esteem to deal with. Great cinematography captures Seoul’s queer life after dark. You’ll want to experience Seoul after watching this. There are excellent small details in this film, such as when Cheol-jun can’t understand why so many people wear headphones. When told it’s to shut out the world around them, this confuses him further as he’s so desperately trying to connect to the world around him. A beautiful indie film about dealing with vulnerability in the shadows of society.

Queerguru’s Contributing Editor Ris Fatah is a successful fashion/luxury business consultant  (when he can be bothered) who divides and wastes his time between London and Ibiza. He is a lover of all things queer, feminist, and human rights in general. @ris.fatah