Final Rating: 3/5
The World Before, directed by Yoon Dan-bi, centres on the relationship between Jin (Sim Su-bin) and Du-jae (Kim Eo-jin), two childhood friends reunited when Du-jae visits for his grandmother’s funeral. Jin is excited to see her friend again after so many years, but also is unexpectedly possessive of him.
When her friends swoon over Du-jae’s looks, Jin grows jealous. She looks for more excuses to hang out with Du-jae and spends her downtime scrutinizing her own looks while daydreaming about how she should act the next time she sees him.
Jin’s one-sided crush dominates The World Before, turning the film into an acting showcase for Sim. Sim delivers a layered character who is as easy to empathize with and as frustrating to watch as a real teenager. Like most teenagers, many of her problems could be solved by simply communicating her wants and needs with the people who need to hear them. But like most teenagers, she either doesn’t know how or isn’t comfortable yet doing any of that.
Jin jumps at opportunities to spy on her crush and undermine her friends’ romantic ambitions rather than confess her love for Du-jae. Jin’s chronic avoidance to confront her own feelings makes her miserable and keeps her from getting closer to Du-jae. And of course, Du-jae is only visiting; eventually, he’ll move away again, and each day Jin spends fretting is a day she’s not spending with the object of her affections.
While Du-jae is from the same island, moving away when he was little means fewer characters have an existing relationship with him.
As Du-jae, Kim has significantly less to do in The World Before. His portrayal is deeply sad, but also mysterious. Du-jae is characterized both through what’s seen and what the audience assumes when he’s not seen. Every time Jin hangs out with him, he reveals something new about himself, often unintentionally, or even under duress. Du-jae is friends with some local immigrant workers who moved into his old house; he had a girlfriend once but not anymore; his relationship with his mother has deteriorated.
The World Before isn’t a romance for Du-jae. Between the grief over his grandmother’s death and trying to hold on to the relationships he has, Du-jae’s story is more tragic. He’s not left with much time to even consider reciprocating the feelings of someone who nominally supports him but doesn’t seem to know that much about him anymore.
Director Yoon tackles nostalgia in adolescence, with all the disappointment it can bring. Even in youth, the leads cling to a past they’re forced to realize no longer exists, simply because they are no longer children. Once innocuous activities like walking through the forest or swimming in the ocean together provoke romantic urges that weren’t there years ago. Any attempts to act on those urges are met with confusion how, or even whether, to reciprocate.
Both want to live in the world that existed before, but neither has a firm idea of what that means. Jin wants her childhood friend to have grown up with her; Du-jae wants things to be just like when he left.
Director Yoon’s film is quiet and contemplative, with the performances by Sim and Kim shining through.
The World Before was seen during the 2026 Toronto International Film Festival. Thank you to The PR Factory for the screener.
