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Inspired by writer/director Ounie Lecomte's own childhood experiences, A Brand New Life tells the story of a nine year old girl named Jinhee (Kim Sae-ron) who's sent to live in a Seoul orphanage run by Catholic nuns so her father can start a new family. Realizing that her life has been permanently and profoundly changed, Jinhee struggles with feelings of separation while attempting to make sense of her new surroundings. There, in the orphanage, friendships are broken as quickly as they were forged - the whimsy of fate and adoptive parents making lasting relationships difficult. At first Jinhee longs for the day she, too, will be selected to live with a new family, but over time she begins to resent the idea of once again being separated from the people she cares most about.