The Aimless Dream

The Stray Bullet is a Korean national cinema which “differs from Hollywood and maintains its own terrain (Crofts 27)”. This cinema covers the economic and cultural side of South Korea. It depicts the hardship of post-war Korea and it is very interesting to see how two protagonists, Chul Ho and Young Ho, take their actions to achieve their dream, “to regain their masculinity (Cho 108)”. They take completely different path but the results are more or less similar at the end. In addition, the plot parallels with the title of this movie, The Stray Bullet.  Both of their dreams become unachievable.

Chul Ho, the oldest son in the family, lives his life according to the bible. His goal is to become a “strong” man who can support the family. Chul Ho works at the accounting office every day, comes home and takes care of the family. He does not spend money on himself even on the payday. He brings his pay cheque straight to home where his wife, old mother, daughter and his siblings wait. He only thinks about the family’s well-being.  Chul Ho struggles from time to time since he cannot make the family live the decent life as he wishes. He faces the break down when his family starts to fall apart. His wife dies on the same day that his younger brother, Young Ho goes to the jail for robbing the bank. He no longer has a wife to bring the pay cheque to.  He no longer has a brother who he can chat with. He gets lost when he faces the unintended and twisted life.  

Conversely, Young Ho takes a different path. He does not want to work hard to gain the masculnity after the two years of unemployment. He rather tries to change his life and achieve his goal by robbing the bank.  “Young Ho’s dream of empowerment is articulated as a desire to be an outlaw hero” (Cho 108). He dreams to earn big at once and show the family and females that he is still strong. He robes the bank; however, he gets caught and ends up in jail. As he gets caught by the police, his dream becomes unachievable.

Overall, by viewing The Stray Bullet, the audience can see the South Korean men’s desire to become strong and powerful men even in the hardship of post-war Korea. Not all men achieve their dreams. Chul Ho and Young Ho both failed at regaining their masculinity. It became ‘The Stray Dream’.

                                                                                                                      -  Soo Min Kim -

Works Cited:

Crofts, Stephen, “Reconceptualizing National Cinema” in Alan Williams, ed. Film and Nationalism,  

         25-51.

Eunsun Cho, “The Stray Bullet and the Crisis of Korean Masculinity” in South Korean Golden Age         

       Melodrama: Gender, Genre, and National Cinema, Eds. Nancy Abelmann and Kathleen McHugh.    

       Detroit: Wayne State University Press, 2005. 99-116.