Jeon Woochi: The Easy Transition from Past to Present

Joen Woo-chi was a film that was relatively easy to digest, and I found it to be quite entertaining although there were some minor aspects of the plot that I was still unclear of when the film ended. This uncertainty was probably due to a cultural barrier. Aspects related to the story’s mythology, like the gods’ roles in the film and why they could see a cat on the woman’s shoulder for example are parts of the film I did not clearly understand. If I had had a background in Korean mythology and Daoism when watching Jeon Woo-chi, this film might have been easier to follow.

In the reading for this week, Kim states, “The multiple traditional spaces that Jeon Woo-chi engenders – the Kyongbok Palace; the phallus-shaped mountains of traditional landscape paintings, with white rings of clouds just below their peaks; and the dimly lit sarangbang (guesthouse usually occupied by men) chambers where demons hide under the skins of yangban aristocrats – all morph into hyper-urban forests composed of thin, glass-surfaced buildings, mental institutions, Catholic churches, and sets for movies and fashion photo shoots, which are all common sights in contemporary Seoul” (211). This is an interesting quote to reflect on as the film definitely brings about a juxtaposition-ing between the two Korean worlds and times: traditional and contemporary. It’s always interesting to watch a film where a character from the past travels to the present because we always get to see the part in the movie where that character is either shocked, confused or in awe of the changes that have occurred in society since his own time period.  For some reason, this film did not show the characters from the past to be that shocked of Korea’s present day society. Although Woo-chi and his side-kick were certainly surprised of some aspects of the modern-day world, they easily accepted the new technologies and culture. Does this then say something about the film’s aim in connecting the past to the present in a smooth, agreeable and uncomplicated way? Why did it choose to do so in that way instead of having a character shocked and critical of what the world may have become today compared to the “good old days” of the nostalgic past?