In this blog post, we’ll examine how the screenplay for ‘Memories of Murder’, directed by Korean master Bong Joon-ho, weaves together a real-life case, the social contradictions of the 1980s, and the desires of two detectives to create tension and horror. Introduction The first thing I said as I walked out of the theater with my friends after watching this movie was, “That was...
How Does ‘The Host’ Expose the Violence of Korean Bureaucracy Through the Language of Noir?
This blog post interprets the film ‘The Host’ from a noir perspective, analyzing the mechanisms of structural violence and social indifference revealed by Korean bureaucracy. Introduction The film ‘The Host’ is commonly known as a work that surpassed 13 million viewers, a Korean film that enjoyed a long-running theatrical release in the US, or the highest-grossing film of all time. But how...
How did ‘The Host’ usher in the “10 Million Audience Era” of Korean cinema?
In this blog post, we’ll take a look at how Bong Joon-ho’s The Host ushered in the “10 million audience era” of Korean cinema and how it changed the perception of the kaiju genre. What ‘The Host’ left behind for Korean cinema The record 13.097 million people. This is the final number of moviegoers mobilized by The Host. It became the highest-grossing Korean film of all time...
The Mother’s Love in ‘Mother’: How Far Can It Be Forgiven?
This blog post examines the twisted nature of maternal love through the film ‘Mother’ and explores how far such feelings can be forgiven. The concept of ‘maternal love’ is often associated with warm words like unconditional love and devotion. However, describing the feelings Mother (played by Kim Hye-ja) has for her son in the film ‘Mother’ simply as devotion falls short. This is because...
Why did director Bong Joon-ho use Parasite to expose the problems of capitalist society?
In this blog post, we explore how director Bong Joon-ho’s film Parasite exposes the class conflicts and issues revealed within capitalist society. Watching director Bong Joon-ho’s films, one senses a grand metaphor. His films transcend mere entertainment, serving as mirrors that reflect social messages. In Snowpiercer, the journey from the tail car to the head car symbolizes...