Hijab Traveler:Love Sparks In Korea

5 June, 2019 Oleh Rizma Fauziyyah

Author :Asma Nadia

Publicaton year :2015

Publisher :Asma Nadia

City rises : Jakarta

Page : 380 pages

Hijab Traveler that tells the story of a life journey of Rania, a Muslim traveler from Indonesia. Rania, who always traveled to various countries, made her far from home and family for quite a long time, until she heard the news that her father was ill, he decided to go home. Arriving at home, the father hoped that Rania would visit a place on the tip of the island of Java where his father and mother found love in the land of Baluran as his last trip.

There, Rania meets Alvin and Hyun Geun – a arrogant and arrogant Korean photographer. Hyun Geun’s skepticism that said that the scenery in Korea was far more beautiful compared to Indonesia forced Rania to lead them to Ijen Crater, one of the beautiful places in Baluran land.

But soon there they were, Ilham Gandari, whom he had known for a long time, brought sad news. Ilham picked Rania because her father had died. Rania was hit and returned with regret for not accompanying her father’s last time. Since then, he promised his mother to end his journey and settle in Baluran.

As soon as the death of his father, Rania settled in Baluran. His journey to enjoy various natural beauty in the opposite country must be stopped because he did not want to return to feeling regret for not being able to accompany his father’s last day. Then, is this film just interesting at the beginning, where can we see Rania’s beautiful trips? The answer is yes and no.
Since that moment, we will be presented with stories of ordinary family life. Rania lives with her family – her mother and siblings – and the presence of Ilham who has been ensured to have “hope” to be able to be with Rania. Even so, Rania’s trip did not stop. Now, he teaches in a school where his students are illiterate mothers who are projects from Ilham

Hyun Geun is played by Morgan Oey who is physically similar to East Asians. Morgan’s choice of actor for Hyun Geun’s role was right. He is able to play a Korean man very well, even though there are a lot of Morgan’s dialogues that are not well controlled. The difference in the way of talking between Hyun Geun and Lim Kyung Ae is so much different even though they are both able to speak Indonesian. Supposedly, Morgan was a little more disguised in his Indonesian way of speaking to make it look more like a Korean citizen.
Not to forget, the role of Agus Ringgo in this film was able to evoke a comedy side in the story, so that the film did not seem like a solid romance drama. His presence was able to melt the atmosphere when the story in this film began to feel flat. Unfortunately the advertising sponsor message that happened several times rather disrupted the storyline of the film.

Speaking of Islamic nuances, we will be shocked by the true figure of Hyun Geun. He repeatedly sent e-mails and also photos showing apologies for making Rania late so he wasn’t next to his father at the last moment. Actually there is a clue that Hyun Geun is from a Korean Muslim family. This can be seen with a photo that shows how he dressed using typical Muslim attributes in Indonesia, such as sarongs and koko clothes. However, we are more focused on the apologies he shows. And when Rania intends to visit Alvin on campus to talk to Hyun Geun to stop sending him an email, everything is revealed when Alvin says that Hyun Geun is a Muslim. Rania is shocked when she sees a photo of Hyun Geun praying in front of her late mother in the same way as Muslims.
“Did you just know? Not that he ever sent a photo that used the skullcap and sarong? “Alvin’s dialogue will feel mocking you if you also fail to know that Hyun Geun is a Muslim.