In Korea, July and August are the summer vacation period, which is why Korean film companies release films with large budgets during this time. The film that marked the start of the summer peak season in 2023 was "The Moon." This film is the first Korean film to feature a lunar exploration. However, both audiences and critics gave the film poor reviews. 7-8 months is the time when the most movie tickets are sold in Korea, but only 500,000 tickets were sold for *The Moon*. In order to recover the film's production and marketing costs, over 6 million tickets needed to be sold.**

The film's plot revolves around the events that unfold when Korea's first lunar probe drifts into space. The spaceship had a total of three astronauts on board, but due to a technical malfunction, two of them died in space, except for Hwang Seon-woo (D.O.). Left alone in space, Hwang Seon-woo successfully lands on the moon despite the protests of the Earth headquarters and returns to Earth alive.

However, the film spends more time on the characters' pasts and the resulting emotional conflicts than on the lunar exploration. The theme of humanity going to the moon has been used since the first space exploration film "Le Voyage dans la Lune" (1902). This is probably due to the suspense and curiosity that comes with unknown space. However, this film does not use space in a (bad sense) traditional way. *Instead of showing adventures and discoveries in an alien world, there are constantly close-ups of Korean funeral homes and people crying.**

Even when Hwang Seon-woo (D.O.) lands on the moon, the film does not show what you would expect from a lunar exploration film. The scene of Hwang Seon-woo landing on the moon is accompanied by the voice of a news anchor explaining how momentous this moment is for Korea. It would have been better to show the quietness of space. *Instead of expressing the exhilaration or fear that one might feel in outer space, the film forces patriotism on the audience.* Space does not feel at all like a strange new world, but is only used as another device to pour out the sad stories of the characters.

The film has a Rotten Tomatoes score of 23%, and it has been criticized for being not only illogical but also xenophobic. However, the film also has its merits. It makes even the most unappealing Marvel film feel like "Citizen Kane" (1941). *The actual footage of the Apollo 11 crew running around the lunar surface in 1969, humming "dada-da," is much more entertaining than this film.*