Train, Again ?

During the climax scenes of the film Memories of Murder, as a viewer I could not help but to notice the use of the trains that were passing through. The first instance was when Detective Park chased after Kwang-ho, the only eye witness to the murders, and Kwang-ho panicked and ran onto the train tracks. The train figuratively and literally crushed away their only hope in gathering evidence to convict Park Hyung-gyu, the suspect. Another instance was when Detective Suh confronted Park and could not believe the inconclusive DNA test result that just came in from the United States. In this case, the train blew by and the camera depicted the moment in close-up where the train ran over the test result paper, one that they have been desperately hoping to provide positive evidence to the case, and tore it apart. Using this opportunity Park also ran into the tunnel and eventually disappeared into the darkness again. If one was to interpret the personalities of the two lead detectives representative of instincts against logic and science. The train, in both scenarios, deliberately protruded into the camera frames and crushed their leads. The end results were that both ways of solving crimes failed to resolve the murders. The use of trains really drew my attention and felt somehow really familiar. After rechecking my notes, only then I realized “train” was used in 3 of the 4 films we have viewed from the period of late 1990s and early 2000s. In My Sassy Girl, the train was used in numerous occasions to create the idea of fate and how they often crossed paths without finding each other. In Peppermint Candy, the use of train was even more intensive. Train was depicted at the end of each of the episodes and was somehow representative of the flow of time and its continuity. Train was also how the protagonist parted ways with his ex girlfriend and in the end how he committed suicide. In all cases, the use of train played a critical role in developing the plot as well as visual motifs prompting the viewers to see the intended message. What’s the significance of the use of trains in all these scenes across different films? Is it something popular during the time period in film production? Or is it just a coincidence that these films around the turn of the centuries picked up the same motif and integrated into their respective contexts?