{"id":3309,"date":"2015-08-06T19:07:47","date_gmt":"2015-08-06T19:07:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/korean\/?p=3309"},"modified":"2017-12-04T07:17:20","modified_gmt":"2017-12-04T12:17:20","slug":"korean-movies-beyond-old-boy-and-off-the-charted-path","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/korean\/korean-movies-beyond-old-boy-and-off-the-charted-path\/","title":{"rendered":"Korean Movies: Beyond ‘Old Boy’ and off the Charted Path"},"content":{"rendered":"

Korean film is more than the modern classics like\u00a0Old Boy (\uc62c\ub4dc\ubcf4\uc774<\/em>\u00a02003), The Chaser\u00a0<\/em>(\ucd94\uaca9\uc790\u00a0<\/em>2008), and Taegukgi: The Brotherhood of War\u00a0(<\/em>\ud0dc\uadf9\uae30 \ud718\ub0a0\ub9ac\uba70<\/em> 2004). \u00a0Those titles are internationally acclaimed\u00a0Korean movies–quirky, disturbing, powerful. \u00a0Film Festivals in Cannes, Venice, Berlin, among others, represent a steady stream of nominated Korean films from independent to large studios. \u00a0(In a future post, I will get to those.) \u00a0For now, there are two, perhaps ‘B’, movies from South Korea that are part of a popular genre, hit on cultural issues, and involve current day political issues.<\/p>\n

(Disclaimer: In no way is this intended to be a starting guide for Korean film; nor is it meant to be a representation of the finest Korean films or modern classic Korean cinema. \u00a0Some of the guilty pleasures in film are the above average ones: the predictable and unrealistic thrillers, the melodramatic and overacted dramas, the low-brow comedies. \u00a0In this article–and others in the near future–I will highlight films off-the-beaten path, ones that your Korean friends [or strangers] might easily know or never have known. \u00a0With this, I hope you will have a conversational ice-breaker, or perhaps teach them a movie or two. \u00a0Additionally, my personal favorite way to learn [colloquial] Korean or improve comprehension is by watching Korean thrillers.)<\/em><\/p>\n

TABLOID TRUTH (2014)<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

More known of the two \u00a0movies featured here,\u00a0Tabloid Truth (\ucc0c\ub77c\uc2dc: \uc704\ud5d8\ud55c \uc18c\ubb38)\u00a0<\/em>taps into an unfortunate reality of Korean culture: paparazzi, online gossip, and its affect on suicide<\/a>. \u00a0In the film, a promising actress is incorporated into a stock market “tip sheet” (\ucc0c\ub77c\uc2dc) that is picked up by tabloids. \u00a0The news is whipped up by a group of men–the cast and sinister characters is male-dominate–who have meetings to see how they can shape public opinion to their interest. \u00a0The actress, who is rumored to be having an affair with a married politician, soon becomes the focus of the tabloid and commits suicide. \u00a0This leads her manager, played by Kim Gang-woo (\uae40\uac15\uc6b0, from great films like\u00a0A Better Tomorrow\u00a0\ubb34\uc801\uc790\u00a0<\/em>and Ha Ha Ha \ud558\ud558\ud558), goes on hunt for justice, leading to the common Korean movie catch and chase game.<\/p>\n

The film was the first movie to be filmed in Korea’s parliament. \u00a0It has been claimed, as well, that is the first film to touch on Korea’s gossip culture<\/a>. \u00a0Tabloid Culture<\/em> was also featured in North American theaters<\/a>. \u00a0The film is directed by Kim Kwang-sik (\uae40\uad11\uc2dd) whose only other work as a director was the stereo-typical Korean romantic gangster comedy\u00a0My Dear Desperado (\ub0b4 \uae61\ud328 \uac19\uc740 \uc560\uc778)<\/em>, so one can expect a predictable plot.<\/p>\n

MOBY DICK (2011)<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

The way Director Park In-je debuts on the screen–it’s his only fim to date–is with an untapped genre of film.\u00a0 For domestic movie-goers in Korea, the quirky comedy–say, The Good, the Bad, the Weird<\/em>\u00a0(\uc88b\uc740 \ub188, \ub098\uc05c \ub188, \uc774\uc0c1\ud55c \ub188)<\/em>–or the over-the-top horror movie–say, The Host<\/em>\u00a0(\uad34\ubb3c)–are the kinds of films that draw attention in South Korea and make directors household names.\u00a0 For Park, he enters with Moby Dick<\/em>\u00a0(\ubaa8\ube44\ub515), perhaps Korea’s first conspiracy film, and it’s not too far from the truth.<\/p>\n

For a government and country that is sensitive about its image, both geo-politically and through film, Moby Dick<\/em>\u00a0is the kind of risky film one would expect from a seasoned director like Park Chan-wook or Kwak Kyeong-taek.\u00a0 But Park, who received the grand-prize at the 2003 Mise-en-Scene Genre Film Festival for his short film “The End of the Road”, uses the genre to explore domestic matters close to its real life source.<\/p>\n

Moby Dick<\/em>-no relation to the Herman Melville classic–is named after a website used by the Korea’s Defense Security Command in 1980s and 90s.\u00a0 In 1990, in a move 20 years before the Wikileaks case, a private released top secret military files to the public.\u00a0 At the time, Korea was in transition from a military dictatorship to full fledged democracy–and corruption was all too common. \u00a0Moby Dick<\/em>\u00a0captures that time in Korean history.\u00a0 The film stars Hwang Jeong-min (\ud669\uc815\ubbfc, from New World\u00a0\uc2e0\uc138\uacc4, 2013<\/em>) as a veteran journalist named Lee.\u00a0 Lee starts to investigate a strange bridge explosion that occurs outside of Seoul.\u00a0 An old friend, Yun (Jin Goo \uc9c4\uad6c, from the must-see, Mother<\/em>\u00a0\ub9c8\ub354,\u00a02009), unexpectedly visits him.\u00a0 Yun tells him that the explosion secretly involved the South Korean government and, in great 1990s fashion, gives him a floppy disk in order to find out what really happened.<\/p>\n

After Lee puts together a team of investigative reporter, a group of unidentified tough guys threaten him.\u00a0 Abruptly, a state-run news agency announces North Korean spies were responsible for the bridge’s explosion.\u00a0 Lee, shrugging off the announcement as government backed sensationalist news, continues to dig deeper to find the truth.<\/p>\n

Though the cast and story made this film a potential hit, the film was not a box office success.<\/p>\n