Contributor: Michele Manelis

Ajooma marks writer-director He Suming’s debut feature film about a widowed Singaporean woman in her 50s, Lim Beehwa (Hong Hui Fang). She goes by the name Auntie, a common moniker for many married or middle-aged women in Singapore. 
Lim Beehwa escapes her humdrum existence by becoming an obsessive binge-watcher of Korean soap operas.  Given her interest in all things South Korean, she decides on a vacation to Seoul with her adult son, Sam (Shane Pow). However, when he discovers he can no longer travel with his mother due to an unexpected job interview in New York, she bravely travels alone after she realizes her tickets are non-refundable.
Auntie has the adventure of her life when she meets a teenage tour guide, Kwon-Woo (Kang Hyung-Seok), in need of some adult guidance. She also meets a security officer, Jung Su (Jung Dong-hwan), who helps her locate the tour bus from which she is lost. This unlikely trio finds they have much in common and form an unbreakable bond. For Auntie, her trip to Seoul is not merely a vacation but a journey of self-discovery.
Suming avoids some fish-out-of-water clichés, though Auntie most definitely finds herself under amusing circumstances, especially in those lost-in-translation moments of not understanding the Korean language. In those instances, she’s unequivocally out of her comfort zone.
Ajooma is an uplifting film that shines a positive light on such universal themes as ageism and human connection. It reminds us that it’s never too late to reinvent oneself beyond the hard-wired identities of wife, mother, and daughter. Additionally, it’s important not to underestimate the power of making friends or enjoying new experiences. Suming reminds us these practices are not exclusive to younger generations.