Lee Hyun-ju (starring Yoon Jeong-hee) is secretly living with her co-worker at the bank, Mr. Park (starring Shin Seong-il), who is not only incapable of satisfying her sexually, but also refuses to offer her the security of marriage. Caught between a state of discontent, the painful memories of her first love and a world of fantasy, her desires kick in. In high school, she falls in love with her teacher who leaves her an unwed mother when he dies in the Vietnam War. She turns to roaming the streets of the night that filled with temptation and pleasure, becoming disillusioned by the wretched and shameless beings that occupy it, and even experiencing ecstasy for the first time from forced sex with strangers.
The "controversy over obscenity" during the late 70s may have forced Kim Soo-yong’s Night Voyage to be cut in more than 50 places. However, from a more sophisticated modernist angle the film indeed introduced a rather sincere picture of a woman’s confused inner world, which shifted between independence and free will, and a repressed desire for sexuality and marriage. Perhaps this is because the film draws us into her daring world of fantasy as she explores the various spaces of the city, but also because it reveals the threats and restrictions inflicted on her body and her mind. [JOO You-shin]