This blog post examines how ‘Christmas in August’ broke away from the formula of conventional sentimental melodrama, creating a new trend in Korean melodrama through realistic and nuanced emotional portrayal.
Korean melodramas are often described as impossible to watch without tears. In short, they can be seen as close to melodramas. The 1998 film ‘Christmas in August’ is frequently cited as a representative work embodying these characteristics. A brief look at the film’s basic premise reveals its focus on the relationship between Jeong-won, a man living with a terminal illness, and Dal-im, a parking enforcement officer with whom he shares a subtle emotional connection. The trope of a character living with a terminal illness was a convention frequently employed in Korean melodramas throughout the 1990s. However, ‘Christmas in August’ diverges from typical melodramatic sensationalism; I believe it represents a step forward within the melodrama genre’s framework.
‘Christmas in August’ captivates the audience with its calm yet unforced visual aesthetics. When one thinks of melodramas, beautifully refined frames, a hazy texture reminiscent of fog filters, and somewhat exaggerated mise-en-scène often come to mind. However, this film eschews such decorative elements, instead showing Jeong-won quietly living his life within understated frames. Visually, it strives for a very naturalistic look. This is what sets ‘Christmas in August’ apart from other melodramas. The very fact that it drives the narrative with such restrained visuals is, I believe, a key characteristic and an outstanding expression of this work.
This film starts differently from the outset. In other melodramas, the protagonist’s illness is usually revealed only in the latter part of the story, followed by scenes that are impossible to watch without tears. However, ‘Christmas in August’ shows from the very beginning that Jung-won is living with a terminal illness. The scene of her picking up medicine at the hospital and the scene where she calmly narrates her thoughts on the playground inform the audience right from the film’s start that Jung-won is already living with a limited time. This setup may seem minor, but it is a crucial element that creates a clear difference when compared to other melodramas.
Traditional films typically follow a structure where a character living a happy or ordinary life is suddenly diagnosed with an illness one day, followed by a series of scenes designed to stimulate tears after the truth is revealed. In contrast, ‘Christmas in August’ calmly depicts how the protagonist, already living with a terminal illness, accepts that life and the attitude with which they live it. In conventional melodramas, characters often accept their lives with sadness and pain, eliciting tears from the audience. However, in this film, Jeong-won acknowledges his terminal condition and portrays it with quiet acceptance. This very point is the most significant difference distinguishing it from other works.
Jeong-won runs a small photo studio and lives with his aging father. Even this basic setup is simple and restrained. Starting from such an unassuming premise, the film creates a different texture from conventional melodramas. Traditional melodramas often prominently feature lonely lives or a thirst for life. However, ‘Christmas in August’ delicately follows the texture of everyday life rather than emphasizing excessive deprivation or dramatic conflict.
The film’s greatest strength and distinguishing feature lies in its intensely realistic portrayal of emotions. Situations unfold without exaggeration, presented like slices of real life, while the uncontrived visuals and composition naturally draw the audience into the film. Jeong-won cannot forget his first love, who is now married, while Dal-im is a fresh-faced woman in her early twenties. Director Hur Jin-ho depicts the dialogue and events exchanged between these two characters realistically, without exaggeration. Director Hur Jin-ho, who helmed this film, is later recognized as a director who created a new wave in Korean melodrama with films like “Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter… and Spring” and “Happy,” and ‘Christmas in August’ is the work that marked the starting point of that journey.
The director meticulously portrays the characters’ subtle emotional shifts and inner movements. This is decisive evidence that this work is not merely a melodrama. What the director sought to show in this film was not tear-jerking melodrama, but rather the precise capture of two people just beginning to fall in love and their emotions.
Another major difference setting this film apart from other melodramas lies in the protagonist’s attitude and the ending. Jeong-won never reveals his impending death to Dal-im, choosing instead to live on, cherishing the tender time they shared. While conventional melodramas dramatically emphasize the moment of parting to elicit tears, ‘Christmas in August’ is different. Jeong-won takes his own portrait photo, preserves memories with friends through pictures, and calmly organizes his precious moments with Dal-im. Ultimately, Dal-im never learns that Jeong-won has passed away. In the final scene, Dal-im stands before Jeong-won’s photo studio, smiling as she gazes at her own picture displayed in the shop window. The emotion in that scene, where she quietly reflects on their time together, is expressed with great subtlety.
This film also features the coexistence of realistic emotional portrayal and poetic imagery. The scene where Jeong-won washes leeks in the yard while preparing dinner with her father, and the water flowing into the drain, symbolically shows Jeong-won’s attitude of accepting that her life, too, flows like the natural course of things. The scene where she prepares ingredients for spicy fish stew with her father at the fish market also poetically depicts the act of calmly preparing for the end of life. Furthermore, the police station scene reveals that Jung-won’s outwardly composed exterior is gradually giving way to inner complexity and anxiety.
Delicate emotional portrayals, realistic scenes, and striking imagery are placed throughout the film. The image of Jung-won waiting for Da-rim in front of the bathhouse, holding two tangerines in his hands, shows his simple heart—he bought only two tangerines to share with Da-rim. This comes across as a realistic action one might expect from a male character. Furthermore, the scene where Jeong-won, sensing death is near, calmly explains to his father how to turn on the video camera, but then, after his father struggles to follow along, lashes out in frustration and storms off, is a passage that delicately depicts the psychology of a person facing death. He personally writes down instructions for everything from operating the video camera to using the photo machine, showing consideration for his father who will be left alone after he’s gone. The scene where he takes his own portrait photo, which then dissolves directly into the funeral scene, is an impressive moment showcasing the director’s sensibility. The scene where he returns to the photo studio drunk with friends and takes a group photo also lingers as a moment that subtly stirs the audience’s heart.
In this way, ‘Christmas in August’ breaks away from the exaggerated melodrama typical of existing Korean melodramas, presenting a different texture through realistic, delicate emotional portrayal and poetic visuals. Rather than simply eliciting tears, the film earns praise as a masterpiece for its unflinching gaze upon life and love. Director Hur Jin-ho’s ‘Christmas in August’, taking a step beyond conventional melodrama, possesses an emotional resonance that remains potent today and stands as a significant work in the history of Korean melodrama.
