The Fish Tank as Illusory Refuge

Kang Je-gyu’s film Shiri depicts a motif of fish, which is shown in numerous instances throughout the film. The nature of fish represents the freedom that the characters in the film possess when they live in blissful ignorance, external of the political strife that pervades in Korea due to the issue of Korean reunification. However, this bubble of ignorance is depicted to be fragile and vulnerable to destruction by reality. 

The motif of fish is first introduced in the film when Hyun gifts a pair of kissing gourami fish to Yu, noting that if one of the pair dies, then the other dies of loneliness. The pair of  kissing gourami symbolizes the blissful relationship between Hyun and Yu, when Yu is initially ignorant of Hyun’s true identity. In this state of blissful ignorance, Yu is able to live a happy life with Hyun. In return, Hyun is also able to express her genuine feelings for Yu, without consideration of her mission as a North Korean secret agent. 

During a phone threat to Yu, Park gives both Yu and the viewer a description of shiri fish. Shiri are a type of Korean aboriginal fish that swim freely in the waters from both North and South Koreas, unable to distinguish between the waters of the two due to the fact that they join together. This symbolizes the lack of a natural border between the Koreas, and suggests a juxtaposition between actions that are induced by society and actions that are induced by the intuitive self. This intuitive self is represented by fish in the film, who are unaware of anything outside of their natural environments.

The fish tank as a symbolic place of refuge is shown to be fragile and vulnerable, as the fish in the tanks at Yu’s workplace are revealed to be bugged by SU300. The presence of SU300 symbolizes corruption in the fish tank. Evidently, the fish tank has never been truly separated from the ugliness of the real world - the ugliness was merely hidden from view. As Park shoots Lee in the aquarium and shatters the fish tank behind him, the blissful illusion of a personal refuge for Hyun and Yu is shattered as well.