Under a desk at an animal shelter,
where someone’s farewell arrives every day,
Sun quietly watches the hearts that leave
and the hearts left behind.
Director: Won Ho-yeon / Production: HUNDRED12 / Running Time: 88 min
Beneath a desk in an animal shelter in Gangneung, a coastal city in South Korea, lives a dog named Sun.
His Korean name, Tae-yang-i, means “Sun.” Like the sun, he never speaks, yet he is always there, always watching.
Sun lost a front leg in a car accident. Now living on three legs, he quietly observes the daily rhythm of the shelter.
The phone rings. A rescue call. The team rushes out. Soon, a new dog arrives—most often left behind not by cruelty, but by circumstance.
From under the desk, Sun witnesses it all: urgent rescues, frightened newcomers, and the quiet grief of people parting with their animals.
Through his eyes, the film follows stories of farewell:
A dog who kept waiting in an empty house after his owner died.
A puppy separated from a young man who had given up on life.
A pet separated from her family after a fire took their home.
These animals were not simply abandoned. Their farewells reveal deeper fractures in our society: aging, youth poverty, failing systems of care, and growing isolation.
Sun never says a word. But his quiet presence leaves us with a question:
What kind of world have we built?
Sun has made the space beneath the shelter desk his safest place in the world. From there, he quietly watches the backs of friends who find new families and leave.
Three years spent alongside Gangneung Animal Care Center — not a story of abandonment, but of people and animals forced apart by circumstance. Through true stories woven with loneliness, isolation, and the absence of care, the film looks at the moments of parting we all eventually face.
“A film every generation can relate to”
1st CJ ENM STUDIOS Story Contest
Documentary Excellence Award
Judged by Park Chan-wook · Yoon Je-kyun · Kang Je-gyu · Kim Yong-hwa
He lives beneath the desk in the shelter office, watching countless animals get adopted and leave while he stays behind. Perhaps because of his disability, no one has ever asked to adopt him.
"For animals to be happy, people have to be happy first." She oversees the care and recovery of rescued animals, sleeping on the office floor beside Sun every night.
"These days, more animals are separated from their families by hardship than are simply abandoned." He heads without hesitation to highways, fire scenes, and wherever animals need rescuing.
“Through Sun's eyes, I wanted to trace the path where those who leave and those who remain continue walking together.”
Beginning his career producing human-interest documentaries for KBS, Won Ho-yeon made his feature debut with Captain Kang in 2012. Since then, his films have continued to illuminate lives that often go unseen.