Flexibility in time, space, and gender

I think the most noticeable motif in the film Jeon Woo-Chi is the water. The first shot is the raging ocean at night with thunder in the background. The last image is the calm and bright ocean which In-Kyung and Woo-chi enjoy together. Thus, water plays an important role in the film because it reinforces the theme of flexibility in time, space, and gender.

Kim’s essay “The End of History” talks about the rebirth of the new popular genre, saguk, in Korean films at the turn of the twenty-first century. For decades, saguk films fell out of public favor and existed only on television. Previously, they were targeted at retired men and were neither witty nor spectacular (207). Starting 2000, however, saguks were no longer required to get historical details right. Consequently, there was this transition from historically accurate films to historically inaccurate films (Kim 209).

There are two elements in Jeon Woo-Chi that create confusion due to the blurring of line with their counterparts. First, it is the dream and reality which is portrayed as the same. Woo chi once mentions that life is but a dream. In fact, there are two identical scenes of Woo Chi waking up from a dream which complicates the viewer’s understanding of reality and dream. Near the beginning, Woo chi wakes up and tells his master how he kissed a girl in his dream. This scene repeats itself later in the middle of Woo Chi’s battle with Hwadam. However, Woo chi realizes that what he is experiencing is a dream and shoots the black zither.

Second, there is the obscuring of line between science and magic—or technology and magic. Magic in the film is portrayed as something that is real, not a trick. On the other hand, technology is depicted as trickery in the eyes of Woo Chi and Chorangyi. In one scene, Chorangyi wrestles with the locked door because the voice of a woman through the intercom demands them to provide identification repeatedly.

Furthermore, there are two aspects in the film that removes the boundary between the two opposites. For instance, the gender norms are blurred. Chorangyi is played by a male character but in the end, it is told that he is actually a girl.

In addition, the boundary of time is removed because the ancient and modern times are portrayed as the same. At first, the audience thinks that the film is about two stories: the story of Woo Chi in pre-modern society and the story of a female doctor and a male patient in postmodern world. It is revealed later on that both stories are one and the same, played by same characters.

Thus, the motif of water plays a crucial role because it denotes the flexibility between two binaries—in time, gender, and space. However, it is true that some things do remain unchanged over time, like the corrupted politicians in pre and postmodern worlds.