In this blog post, we’ll examine the film “Oldboy”—one of Park Chan-wook’s “Revenge Trilogy”—in terms of its plot, concept, art direction, editing, characters, and marketing.
Plot
Oh Dae-su, the head of an ordinary family, is kidnapped one day while returning home with a birthday gift for his daughter and held captive for 15 years. Suddenly released after 15 years, Oh Dae-su sets out to track down Lee Woo-jin, the man who imprisoned him, and in the process, meets Mi-do and falls in love with her. The truth he uncovers while pursuing Lee Woo-jin leads him to the answer not to “why he was imprisoned,” but to “why he was released.”
Concept – Oldboy vs. Oldboy
The production of ‘Oldboy’ was fraught with numerous twists and turns. While there had been film adaptations of comics before, most were based on Korean comics; ‘Oldboy’ was the first film adaptation of a Japanese manga. Given the nature of the Korean film industry, there were various constraints on adapting a foreign manga into a film, but the movie was ultimately produced.
What the film drew from the source material was its solid storytelling and thriller-like structure: a man imprisoned in a private prison, a situation where he doesn’t know who locked him up or why, and the premise of being suddenly released one day. The film’s main storyline also focuses on unraveling the mystery of “Why was he released?” The nuances of this simple yet subtle question are a key point that sets this film apart from previous works.
Such a clear-cut question demanded a powerful answer, but finding one that everyone could relate to was no easy task. Director Park Chan-wook chose the taboo subject of incest, which was a risky gamble that could have made the audience deeply uncomfortable. However, the director infused this subject matter with elements of Greek and Roman mythology and the literary depth of Shakespeare’s ‘Hamlet’ to raise questions about human nature, and as a result, he succeeded in drawing the audience into a realm of extreme emotion.
Art Direction – Monstrous Spaces
The spatial design in the film is one of its main characters. The contrast between the two spaces—the “confinement room” and the “penthouse”—which symbolize Oh Dae-soo and Lee Woo-jin, may be clichéd, but it resonates powerfully with the audience. The confinement room, stained with sweat and blood, is a “room” that encapsulates a sordid life story; conversely, the penthouse—as clean and cold as a vacuum—is a glass castle symbolizing both aspiration and downfall.
The overall concept is a combination of extreme realism and fantastical elements. Different patterns are used for each space; while the individual patterns themselves may not hold specific symbolism, connecting the locations where they are placed reveals a hidden meaning. The connections—from the confinement room to Mido’s apartment, to the motel hallway and room, to the area across from Mido’s apartment, and back to the confinement room—create an image of being lost, as the wallpaper patterns change in accordance with the characters’ movements as seen from Woo-jin’s perspective.
This spatial arrangement and concept imbue the film with an additional layer of meaning for the audience, transforming it from a film simply to be watched into one to be interpreted.
Editing – Showing Things in an Unfamiliar Way
The editing concept can be summed up as “showing things in an unfamiliar way.” The editing approach closely follows the principle of “avoiding double action.” Typically, double action allows the audience to easily predict upcoming scenes, but in this film, such predictions are thwarted to maintain tension. As a result, the director was able to create a narrative that constantly holds the audience’s attention.
A prime example of this direction is the one-shot, one-cut action sequence with a cleaver, which unfolds in a single take lasting about four minutes. This scene became a much-talked-about moment that astonished audiences not only in Korea but around the world.
Character – The Monster’s Father, Lee Woo-jin
Among Park Chan-wook’s “Vengeance Trilogy,” ‘Oldboy’ is the film in which the meaning of vengeance is the most ambiguous. While in his previous works, vengeance followed a symmetrical and clear cause-and-effect pattern, the vengeance in ‘Oldboy’ is closer to venting anger. Oh Dae-su committed only one mistake: He told a friend the rumor that “Lee Su-ah was having sex with a boy at school” and then transferred schools. This rumor spread and was distorted, ultimately leading to Lee Su-ah’s death.
However, the crux of the matter is that the rumor itself was linked to the pain of incest—a secret known only to the siblings Lee Su-ah and Lee Woo-jin. Oh Dae-su was unaware of that secret, and no rumors about their incest circulated at school. Ultimately, it was the fear of that taboo that drove Lee Su-ah to her death.
Lee Woo-jin seeks revenge against Oh Dae-soo, who had absolutely nothing to do with the matter. His logic is along the lines of “whether it’s a grain of sand or a boulder, it sinks in water all the same”; regardless of whether Oh Dae-soo knew about the incest or spread the rumor, since their sister died as a result, he intends to make Oh Dae-soo taste the same pain. What’s even more ironic is that Lee Woo-jin himself stood by and watched his sister die, and was actually closer to her death than Oh Dae-soo was.
Lee Woo-jin’s revenge isn’t fair or symmetrical, but the reason the audience could empathize with him is because of the self-soothing nature of revenge. Revenge is an act of comforting oneself, and there’s no need to worry about what others think. Even if the reason is childish or illogical, as long as he saves himself through revenge, that’s all that matters.
However, Lee Woo-jin ultimately fails to find redemption through his revenge. When his revenge is complete, he loses the meaning of life, and the responsibility he had shifted onto others comes back to haunt him. Such a character is understood not merely as a villain but as an agent of revenge onto whom we project our own lives, which is why he resonated with so many viewers.
Marketing – Keeping Secrets
Due to its shocking story and plot twists, ‘Oldboy’ underwent strict security protocols during both the planning and filming stages. Crew members signed non-disclosure agreements pledging to keep the script’s secrets, and measures were taken to prevent leaks, such as numbering the first pages of the script books and compiling a list of staff members involved. Even preview screenings were kept to a minimum, and word-of-mouth marketing was deliberately avoided to prevent the secret ending from leaking.
Thanks to these secrecy strategies, combined with thorough market research and analysis of competing films to understand audience needs, the film drew approximately 3.3 million viewers.
Will he ever be able to produce another masterpiece like this?
“Oldboy” achieved both commercial success and critical acclaim through the harmony of the elements mentioned earlier. Even within the revenge trilogy, it is not a mere imitation of the previous film nor a practice run for the sequel—it is the most brilliant installment in the middle.
Director Park Chan-wook later expressed a desire to create a trilogy about “girls,” and ‘Stoker’ was a promising start. However, the concern remains whether he will be able to achieve the same level of success with ‘Oldboy’ in his future works. Personally, I hope Director Park Chan-wook will put these concerns to rest by creating a film that surpasses ‘Oldboy’ and excites audiences once again.
