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Microhabitat

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7.7/10 • 97

2018-03-151h 46m

DramaRomance

Whiskey and cigarettes, the only ways of keeping her dignity in this city.

Miso lives from day to day by housekeeping. Cigarettes and whiskey are the two things that get her through the day. As cigarette prices and rent start to rise, Miso decides to give up her house for cigarettes and whiskey, leading her to couch surf with old friends while reconsidering her place in life.

Directors
Jeon Go-woon
Editors
Go Bong-gon

Top Billed Cast

View Credits
  1. Esom

    Esom

    Mi-so

  2. Ahn Jae-hong

    Ahn Jae-hong

    Han-sol

  3. Kang Jin-ah

    Kang Jin-ah

    Moon-young

  4. Kim Guk-hee

    Kim Guk-hee

    Hyun-jung

  5. Lee Sung-wook

    Lee Sung-wook

    Dae-yong

  6. Choi Deok-moon

    Choi Deok-moon

    Ro-kyi

  7. Kim Jae-hwa

    Kim Jae-hwa

    Jung-mi

  8. Cho Soo-hyang

    Cho Soo-hyang

    Min-ji

  9. Kim Yae-eun

    Kim Yae-eun

    Jae-kyung

Reviews1

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griggs79 Avatar

griggs79

Mar 23, 2025

9/10

Microhabitat is quietly funny in that dry, blink-and-you'll miss it sort of way. Jeon Go-woon's debut is a subtle but assured sly satire about how utterly absurd adulthood turns out to be. The story follows Miso, played with pitch-perfect restraint by Esom, a character whose struggle to afford life's small pleasures in a world that demands too much and gives too little is all too relatable. Her choice of cigarettes and alcohol over her flat is a stark reflection of the compromises many of us make. What follows is a sofa-surfing odyssey through the crumbling dreams of her so-called friends, now the so-called 'adults'. Each stop is a mini-tragicomic gem. Her sister, in the glamourous corporate job, which turns out to be little more than serfdom, held together by intravenous supplements, for which she undertook a nursing qualification to administer (the most valuable training she's taken). The joyless new parents, the pitiful man-child, a 50-year-old living with his parents, who support his attempts of abduction in order to marry him off. There's bleak satire in every corner—an unflinching look at how adulthood has failed us all. Never cruel—just painfully recognisable. Miso's drifting detachment has hardened into something more radical. She begins to see those who've conformed as traitors—sell-outs to a broken system. Her lifestyle becomes a quiet manifesto, a rebellion against the rat race. Her freedom unsettles those who've buckled down, exposing their choices as cowardice. What begins as a story of survival turns into a powerful critique of societal norms. It's bleak, funny, and strangely empowering, leaving the audience enlightened and thoughtful. The third act lands with a quiet, aching finality. As Miso's boyfriend confesses he's trading his dreams for stability, the film crystallises its core heartbreak—not just that adulthood is disappointing, but that even the dreamers eventually surrender. His choice isn't cruel, just crushingly ordinary. It's the slow erosion of hope that stings most. The time jump that follows is disorienting, deliberately so. Her old bandmates speak of Miso at a funeral with the hollow nostalgia of people who've long buried their idealism. Their words are polite, rehearsed, meaningless—revealing more about their own resignation than about her. And then, in a wordless, lingering moment, we glimpse a woman—greying, solitary, and still moving forward. Whether it's truly Miso or just her ghost doesn't matter. What matters is the sense that she never gave in. In a world that wears everyone down, her continued existence feels like a quiet act of defiance. Microhabitat brilliantly mocks the illusions of adulthood with a knowing, bitter chuckle. Bleakly funny, oddly moving, and wonderfully observed.

Media

  • Microhabitat poster
  • Microhabitat poster
  • Microhabitat poster
  • Microhabitat poster
  • Microhabitat poster

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Status
Released
Original Language
Korean
Budget
--
Revenue
--
Keywords
homehousehomelesshousemaidcouchsurfing