[Friend] Are they really friends?

Released in 2001, Friend (directed by Kyung-taek Kwang) is one of the most famous gangster movies of all time in Korea. Taking place in Busan, the movie depicts friendship and loyalty (uiri) among Jun-seok, Dong-su, Sang-taek and Jung-ho. Although the four of have distinct from each other (in terms of personalities, family relations, vision, etc.) they are childhood friends, and their process of growth is shown in the movie.

           One question that rose up in my mind was, if Jun-seok and Dong-su could really be defined as “friends”. Yes, they could be seen as friends since the two also hang out together, but some behaviors in the movie made me wonder. For instance, when the members of the Rainbow band and the guys gather in Jun-seok’s house, Jun-seok introduces Sang-taek to Jin-suk. Dong-su shows interest in her as well, but Jun-seok tells him that she is not here for you. Then Dong-su says, “Am I your sidekick?” As mentioned in Jinhee Choi’s work, there exists hierarchy between the two figures (Choi, 72). Also, after Jun-seok and Dong-su run out of the classroom after getting insulted, one of their classmates describe Jun-seok as the student who is best at fighting at school, and Dong-su as the second student. The hierarchy does not stop in their school days, since Jun-seok tells Dong-su that he has “grown up a lot”, even when they are both right-hand man of different gangs.

           If they were truly friends, should Jun-seok have acted in such way? Maybe it was Jun-seok’s attitude towards Dong-su that made him become estranged to his childhood friends?

Another question that I kept thinking about was the reason for this movie’s success. Even though Choi doesn’t seem agree fully with Han-ju Kwak’s explanation, I agree to Kwak’s point of view. Socioeconomic conditions caused by the financial crisis of the nation would have lead to “social identity crises and anxiety” in Koreans (Choi, 63). Both physical violence as well as verbal violence used in the film could have served as a way to release frustration of people of the time (Choi, 63). Moreover, the loss of masculinity within the country may have looked up to the friends, who were not “afraid of anything” when they were together.

           One of the reasons for thinking in such way is due to comments that I have come across regarding the sequel to this hit movie. After a decade from Friend, Kwak’s Friend 2 will be released in the next month. Although it may be restricted to a smaller group of people, there seem to be a rise in voices of concern regarding romanticization of gangsters in such movies.

If Kwak’s explanation to Friend’’s hit is correct, it should be shown through the success of the follow-up.