Vicarious

Gangster movies used to be an integral part of Korean cinema until Park Chun Hee’s regime stifled it. It always seems to come down to this leader’s authoritarian ruling trying to redefine and recreate Korean culture. Rather than helping Korean’s overcome their feeling of Han caused by the past, he seems to be forcing upon them a more potent version. This type of movie was made to be quite popular because it exudes anger and violence. Both of which men would have felt with the rapid urbanization of South Korea. From prosperous time to have their country declare bankruptcy and accept an IMF bail out. It would be akin to being colonized all over again, because under the tutelage of this western organization, they find themselves constrained once again. This feeling of impotence is not tolerated in this movie. When the men want something they take action, brashly and violently. It created the ideal of the hyper masculine Korean man who takes no prisoners, and in a way that must have been quite a relief when the rest of the world is presented with a different image of this idealized Korean man. The characters seem to be a victim to their circumstances rather than demonstrating actual character flaws. The concept that Koreans can relate with. When one draws the parallel with the whirlwind of socio-economic changes that has occurred in the past twenty years (Choi, 69). One of the pivotal scenes in the movie when Dong-Su and Jun-Soek are being punished by the teacher. Their punishment is brutal and undignified; they don’t stand for it and exit the classroom. The teacher is unable to retaliate due to the fear of reprisal. It could be symbolic of the South Korean’s turmoil after the war. The teacher represents the higher up literal beating them and stripping them from their dignity, however only a selected few can stand up for themselves. These type of movies allow some kind of vicarious pleasure to the viewers.