01/12/2026
"Songs of Love" (from Hawaii) Now Available on Amazon Prime
A musical film about Korean immigration to the Americas lands on a major streaming platform.
A hybrid film that allows viewers to experience history through music.
World-renowned artists including Sumi Jo and Richard Yongjae O'Neill will be featured.
Radio Korea will hold a special screening in LA's Koreatown in 2024.
https://radiokorea.com/news/article.php?uid=488646
A groundbreaking film exploring the roots of Korean immigration to the Americas through music and visuals has entered the mainstream US streaming market, bringing welcome news.
Amidst the global interest in Korean culture, a unique film exploring the deep roots of Korean immigration to the Americas has landed on a major US streaming platform, generating significant interest.
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"Songs of Love from Hawaii," a hybrid musical film that combines music, history, and personal memories, has begun streaming on Amazon Prime Video in the US and the UK.
"Songs of Love from Hawaii" breaks away from the typical documentary format and becomes a "musical narrative." It weaves together archival footage, testimonials, and vibrant musical performances to tell the story of early Korean immigrants who arrived in Hawaii in the early 1900s, 120 years ago, as sugarcane workers, and the families who built their lives supporting the independence movement in a foreign land.
The film unfolds around three main narratives, focusing on emotion and resonance rather than intellectual delivery.
By connecting family, homeland, and love for future generations, the film allows audiences to experience Korean immigration history not as a distant record of the past, but as a living, breathing experience.
The film's artistic excellence is further enhanced by its stellar cast.
International artists include violist Richard Yongjae O'Neill, soprano Sumi Jo, actress Ye Soo-jung, and violinist Jiyeon Kim.
Local Hawaiian musicians, including slack-key guitar virtuoso Keola Beamer and Hawaii Symphony Orchestra concertmaster IΓ±as Chang, join the cast, creating a moving fusion of Hawaiian scenery and music.
The film premiered at the Hawaii International Film Festival and aired on PBS Hawaii, generating a broader audience than traditional documentaries.
Upon its 2024 release in Korea, the film received rave reviews from experts.
Actor Cha In-pyo described the film as a "concert-like poem," while historian Professor Choi Tae-sung praised it for its quiet sensibility and atmosphere, reflecting the sacrifices of ordinary people who shaped history.
Director Lee Jin-young, who directed and produced "Songs of Love," said in her film review that she wanted to translate the history of Korean-American immigration into an emotional narrative.
Lee, a former journalist who moved to Hawaii in her 20s, discovered the lives of early Korean immigrants to the Americas, who had been marginalized by mainstream Korean and American histories, and attempted to "emotionally translate" them through music and cinematic language.
Lee analyzed that for first-generation Korean-Americans, leaving their hometown was a choice for survival, and it was love that sustained them in a foreign land.
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She explained her intention behind producing "Songs of Love" as a desire to document that love in a way that could be felt not just in the head but in the heart.
At a time when discussions about identity and belonging are more active than ever, "Songs of Love" is being evaluated as providing a most intimate and resonant link between the past and the present.
Radio Korea also held the first special screening of 'Songs of Love' for the Korean community at CGV in LA's Koreatown on May 17, 2024.
Credit: Radio Korea | Director Jinyoung Lee of Now Production being interviewed at the special screening of 'Songs of Love'
Credit: Radio Korea | Audience watching the film at the special screening of 'Songs of Love'
