AllMovie

The directorial debut of Joo Kyung-jung, The Little Monk features Kim Tae-Jin as Do-nyeom, an adolescent boy who has spent his life learning the teachings of a devout Buddhist master. As Do-nyeom comes of age, the questions surrounding the whereabouts of his mother increase, and he prays that one day she will come and take him to live in the city. Meanwhile, Jung-sim (Kim Min-kyo), another monk, is confused in a much different way: He's obsessed with sex -- quite against the protocol of Buddhism. Both young men are eventually forced to decide between religious training and what they have been raised to believe is a sinful existence outside of the monastery.