Plot

It depicts a romance between Mu Gwang, a model soldier, and Su-ryun, the young wife of the division commander and the inner conflicts of Mu Gwang.

Serve the People is a 2022 South Korean romantic drama film, written and directed by Jang Cheol-soo and starring Yeon Woo-jin, Ji An, Jo Sung-ha and Kim Ji-chul. Based on the eponymous novel by Yan Lianke, it depicts a romance between Mu Gwang, a model soldier, and Su-ryun, the young wife of the division commander and the inner conflicts of Mu Gwang. The film set in a fictional socialist country much similar to North Korea in the 1970s, was released theatrically on February 23, 2022 in South Korea.

Mu-kwang volunteers to be a kitchen police of Sa-taek, the divisional commander, dreaming of success. One day, Mu-kwang meets Su-ryeon by chance, who is a young and beautiful wife of the commander. Soon, he feels a strong attraction by her.—thetvdb

Mu-Gwang is a soldier tasked with the kitchen duty for the division commander's household that is based in the division headquarters' ground. His major goal in life is to win the recognition of his superiors so that he can be promoted to the rank of officer. He is totally dedicated to serving the commander's household when, during the commander's special assignment away from home for one month, the commander's young wife begins to make demands on Mu-Gwang which can only be interpreted as sexual advances. Mu-Gwang is caught between his devotion to his duty and the fear of violating what is clearly forbidden to him -- the commander's wife. Su-Ryeon, the commander's young wife, demands to be called not as "Ma'am," but as "sister" by Mu-Gwang, citing the small age difference between them. She further demands that Mu-Gwang's duty to serve the people includes the duty to meet her erotic needs. Already married with a child, Mu-Gwang can't decide if he must obey her demand, and if he does, how it will change their relationship and what will happen to him if her husband, the intimidating division commander many years older than his wife, ever finds out. Su-Ryeon claims that her husband, though a valiant military hero, is not a man to her. It turns out, after they make love for the first time, that she was a virgin. Mu-Gwang's initial reason for acceding to the woman's demand is his hope that she would pull her strings to grant him the promotion that he earnestly wants. But as their relationship develops, he develops powerful affections for her. Before they know it, one month passes by and the feared commander, the man of the house, is due to come home. Once he returns, this relationship must end. What will happen afterward? The film jumps forward 15 years and tells what has happened to all the major characters of the story -- with a surprise ending.