The Last Wish
Samsung
Issue 38 | March 2016
Agency
Cheil Worldwide
Creative Team
Chief Creative Officer: Jeongkeun Yoo Creative Director: Seho Kwon Art Directors: Kiho Lee, Seunga Choi, Jungki Seo Junior Art Director: Wijeon Lee Copywriters: Hyelim Heo, Jihwan Park, Jisu Won Account Executives: Wonwha Chung, Changyu Park, Meehyun Cho, Younghae Son, Sunwoo Joo, Wansoo Park, Jihyun Kim
Production Team
Production Company: apc + Seoul Producer: Yeon Na / Yuseok Lee Assistant Producer: Jeehee Rhee Director: Changjae Lee Editor: Sewon Oh Editing Company: fireworks Sound Production Company: Audio Lab Music Composer: Dongjoon Lee / Movie 'Brotherhood' OST Sound Designer: Hochul Joo Assistant Sound Designer: WonWoo Lee Post Production: Fireworks NTC: Red Spot Cinematographer: Youngwoo Lee Gaffer: vKyungmook Choi - Production Designer : Sooyeon Tae Colorist: Sangmin Kim Flame Artist: Jaehyun Kim
Other Credits
Computer Graphic Company: ANGLE +
Date
August – September 2015
Background
Korea is the world's only divided country. As of 2015, the number of people in South and North Korea with families that have been separated by war is estimated at 66,289. Of them, 81.6% are seniors over the age of 70. Their last wish is to see the faces of their loved ones one last time before they die. And yet, there is nothing they can do but yearn for their families as they gaze upon old, faded photographs. To that end, an idea was developed to bring comfort to these families who have long been weary of the wait.
Idea
Samsung, the Korean Red Cross, the Korea Institute of Science and Technology, and several organizations committed themselves to an idea that could fulfil the families' last wish. The idea involved several old, faded photographs and KIST's 3D age progression technology, originally developed to identify criminals and missing persons. This 3D software was used to predict the faces of the divided family members by drawing from the faces found in old photographs dating back to before the war. At least this way, families in North and South Korea who had been separated from their loved ones could be reunited in the pages of photo albums. With the help of the Red Cross, organizers reached out to 23 persons who fortunately had old photographs taken before the Korean War 70 years ago. The likenesses of the family members were predicted using the age progression software. Later, the photographs were featured in an exhibition, which was opened to the public to touch more lives through these stories. A promotional video was produced and distributed to better raise awareness for the exhibition, to generate interest among not just the divided families, but members of the public as well.
Results
Major media outlets across the Republic of Korea featured this story, with much of the press and various media channels announcing the opening of the photo exhibition. Online, the promotional video for this exhibition recorded over 400,000 views (as of August 21). Throughout its three-day run, the exhibition drew nearly 1,000 visitors who came to share the emotional moments. What was especially meaningful was seeing the divided families who had been lost from their loved ones for nearly 70 years find comfort in the photographs. This campaign was meaningful for Korean citizens as well, as it gave everyone the opportunity to remind themselves once again of the families' sorrow by shedding light on the tragedy of our divided country.