Spa Night

Young adult David Cho, an only child of Korean descent, has thus far led a relatively insular life in Los Angeles all in service to the family, his parents Jin and Soyoung Cho. He still lives at home, and without question as an unspoken obligation has worked at the family restaurant, a job which he has done willingly as a good Korean boy respecting the family unit. The Chos are a traditional Korean family in that they still primarily speak Korean, attend church faithfully together on Sundays, and go together to the Korean spa as a cleansing and health ritual. Their life takes a turn when the restaurant goes bust, it in which they had placed all their proverbial eggs. Jin and Soyoung, as they hustle to find replacement work, decide that they will place what little finances they have for David to attend college to make a better life for himself. This change in direction will require David to retake his SAT's as he placed little effort into them the first time around in his obligation to the restaurant and the probable belief that he wouldn't require the score for anything, retaking the exam which requires more money for David to take an expensive SAT course. In the process, David gets a little taste of independence for the first time in his life, spending a few days shadowing an old church acquaintance, Eddie Baek, at USC - a favor offered by Eddie's mother, Soyoung's new employer - and as he can redirect the time that he spent at the restaurant not only in the SAT course but in other pursuits. What David does not tell his parents is that he is placing little effort into the SAT course - college about which he is ambivalent - instead getting a part-time job, cash under the table, working at one of the Korean men's spas. That independence includes David being a little more open with himself about his homosexuality - his sexual orientation about which he has told no one - as he can see clandestine homosexual activity in certain areas of the spa. This new life places David at a loggerhead as he battles between fulfilling his own needs - including his sexual needs - against respecting his family and the Korean culture, especially as he can see that his parents are struggling, each of Jin and Soyoung who is dealing with those struggles in different ways.