First critique of contemporary Korean society since the beginning of the semester

Many of my classmates have already pointed out the entertainment value of this film and that is surely deserved. Though I would argue that it could have benefitted by being a bit shorter and more concise, I think the story and the interaction between the characters is priceless. The special relationship between Chorangyi and Woochi is ridiculous!

What struck me about this film, when it comes to overarching themes, is that this is the first film that critiques contemporary Korean society since the first film, the mockumentary “The Weight of Her”, that we watched in the beginning of the semester. Though the hints are subtle and not the main part of the film, I found them very legitimate and interesting critiques of Korean society.

I couldn’t get screenshots of the scenes that I am talking about, so I will have to describe them as best as possible. When Woochi has come to the future he is in a car with some of his companions. Clearly interested in the changes that has happened he starts to ask questions about society. One of the first things he comments on is the advertising girls who are dancing outside an IT store or something. This very much so mirrors one of the scenes in the mockumentary, in which the girl is looking at these girls who are just dancing around as unanimated objects.  He goes on to ask if they work for a brothel or something.

The second part of this societal critique is when Woochi and the others are walking through the city. Having already been told that Korea no longer has a king, Woochi rhetorically asks, after seeing a homeless man on the street, what happens to people when there are no kings there to feed them - all this while drinking strategically placed “Max” beer and stealing chicken wings from a local pub. Interestingly enough Woochi goes on to saying something negative about the abundance of alcohol would make him an alcoholic really fast. This critique is furthered by the description of the omnipresent alcohol commercials in the urban environment, represented by the wine posters that Woochi and the others serve themselves from.

I think there are tons of other examples of these puns and societal critiques that I have missed, but these are the ones that I “catched-on” to while watching the film the first time.

Lastly, there is another discussion inherent in this film and that is the discussion of how Korea deals with its history. That the last fight is set in Japanese colonial times is very interesting. That period is, by many, considered to be a time that Korea has forgotten. Most of the buildings and infrastructure from that time was destroyed after the colonial period or as a result of the Korean War. To bring the final battle to this period is interesting because this is in a sense a “historic film” even though it is a comedy in every sense. Reading into the choice behind this angle to the final battle, I think, will be a great angle for the final paper!