A poem emerges from pain, much like a bird breaking free from its shell. Only when the world is dismantled can a poem stand whole. Mija (Yun Jung-hee) aspires to write poems. She supports herself and her grandson, a child abandoned by her divorced daughter, with her supplemental security income and a small amount of money earned from caregiving. Although her life is not easy, Mija is always cheerful. However, Mija’s appreciation for beauty is tested when an unpleasant incident involving her grandson shakes her to the core. Director Lee Chang-dong’s Poetry is a movie about attitudes toward beauty. Rather than a detailed narrative, the film, more poetic than novel-like, leaves gaps between lines. Instead, the camera diligently captures the essence of characters through their shadows, movements, and imprints. Eventually, as Mija, suspended somewhere between beauty and morality, bursts into tears. The moment her sobbing resounds, the poem named ‘Yun Jung-hee’is completed. (SONG Kyung-won)