What does Inyun mean in Past Lives?

The movie Past Lives, directed by Celine Song and starring Greta Lee, Teo Yoo, and John Magaro, is a story about two childhood friends, Nora and Hae Sung, who reunite in New York after being separated for years.

Nora has married an American man, Arthur, while Hae Sung is still single and struggling as a musician. The movie explores the themes of identity, nostalgia, and fate through the lens of Inyun, a Korean concept of destiny.

Inyun is a word that has no direct translation in English, but it roughly means providence or fate. It is based on the Buddhist belief that every encounter between two souls is the result of countless interactions in their past lives.

In other words, Inyun is the invisible thread that connects people across time and space. In the movie, Nora explains it to Arthur, saying that if two people get married, they must have a history of 8000 Inyun between them. This means that they have crossed each other’s paths in their previous lives 8000 times.

The movie suggests that Nora and Hae Sung have a strong Inyun that draws them together despite their different life choices and circumstances. They share a bond that transcends language, culture, and geography.

They also feel a sense of loss and longing for their homeland, which they express through music and poetry. The movie uses flashbacks to show their childhood memories in Korea, where they first met and fell in love.