Track_ing
- KOREA, KAZAKHSTAN / 2024 / English, Korean, Kazakh, Russian / Color / DCP / 22 min
Directors: Cho Hanna, Lee Chanyeol, Samgar Rakym, Ali Tynybekov
Photography: Ali Tynybekov, Lee Chanyeol, Cho Hanna
Editing: Cho Hanna, Lee Chanyeol
Sound: Yoo Euijeong
Executive Producer: Kang Sangwoo
Producers: Cho Hanna, Lee Chanyeol, Samgar Rakym
Contact: Lee Chanyeol
South Korea and Kazakhstan established diplomatic relations in 1992. A 500 × 500-pixel square is overlaid on footage taken aboard a train connecting the two countries. Underneath the square is displayed a what seems like continual AI analysis of any footage that passes within the square. It appears to react randomly, simply spitting out words and sentences. Though inorganic, the outputs are full of wit, evoking both warmth and a sense of irony. As we continue reading these various kinds of text, a vivid sense emerges of how today’s youth, having lost their sense of balance in identity, actually feel. Before we realize it, the tracks stretch into space, and the train has been flung into zero gravity. (IST)
[Director’s Statement] We all are riding on a train, whether we want to or not. A train that runs by an engine called an algorithm and moves continuously along a very long and seemingly endless network. The scenery outside is an infinite plain of random and numerous data. The scenery itself does not show or mean anything. We make connections as we gaze outside our carriages, connected but separated simultaneously. There is no tangible substance or logic to this process. Neither does it conform to existing narratives. It could be Korea, but it could also be Kazakhstan. It could be a story about nomads or something about K-pop. Or the history of the Koryo-saram, whom the USSR deported by train during the 1930s. Things only make sense because of the sensations and emotions they provide. Like memes, we use hyperlinks to move from information to information, assemble unrelated images, extract specific meanings and sentiments, and understand our surroundings. On this train, as Frank Stella once said, “what you see is what you see.”
 Cho Hanna |
 Lee Chanyeol |
 Samgar Rakym |
 Ali Tynybekov |
Chanyeol, Hanna, Samgar, and Ali are directors based in Korea and Kazakhstan. They codirected this film as “Team 2K” at a documentary workshop commemorating the two countries’ 30th anniversary of diplomatic relations.