There’s something about Korean movies I just find irresistibly compelling. Even before I started immersing myself in Asian cinemas for this class, I already had a number of arguments with my friends as to what it is that’s really special and unique about Korean cinema. Yes, I consider myself a Koreanovela fan (I actually have several Korean series stuck in my laptop) but I really haven’t given much thought about it until I find myself writing this paper.
As a fan, I ought to have a better answer prepared for that question. But every time I piece together a response, it feels both inadequate and a bit dishonest. I’m not sure if I would just be making things ambiguous, or if I would just oversimplify the answer. Nevertheless, I will still try. To start with, I will be indicating three major things I like about Korean films (besides the obvious ones such as high-quality cinematography and cast flexibility): its diversity, universality, and yes, unpredictability.
DIVERSITY. I like how Korean films, unlike those of Hollywood’s and even of its Asian counterparts, turn out just about every kind of film one can think of. From Buddhist-inspired films to breathtaking action films – name it, Korea’s independent film community more or less has it. I admire their unhesitant stance to feature a wide range of topics that are, for the most part, truly bizarre and unconventional. While the bulk of modern Korean cinema is very much entangled in the romance and melodrama genres (just like what we’ve seen primarily in My Sassy Girl and The Classic), there is actually a whole lot more going on. In fact, for over 5 years of being a Korean film enthusiast, I have already seen – among many others – a documentary about a 40-year old cow, a monster movie, and even sports film about women’s handball or middle school girls’ weightlifting. This broad spectrum of films produced in Korea is already, as they say, an accomplishment in itself, not to mention the strengths and the beauty of each of the individual works.
UNIVERSALITY. No wonder why most Korean films are continuously becoming smash hits in foreign countries both in the east and west. South Korean films – as I see it – possess universality, which allows almost anyone to easily understand their themes. Say in the Philippines, Korean TV shows and movies are lording over the country’s soil. Kwak Jae-Young’s films My Sassy Girl and The Classic are just a few that gained a number of compliments and praises here in the country. Why? Because these two triumphed on expressing this kind of universality through its realistic storyline, making their scenes very easy to relate to. There are just a lot of connections that are established in both plots and, as we all know it, people just love to get involved. Kwak Jae-Young and other Korean directors (as evidenced by their box office films) appeared as though they were not afraid to break free, not hesitant to move away, from what is ‘ideal’. Meaning, they are not afraid to depict an un-ideal part of life, an imperfect part of life, where some (if not most) of us can more readily relate to. For instance, in My Sassy Girl, director Jae-Young did not mind dealing with excessive drinking, partying and even (a bit of) nudity. He found these things important and necessary – although faced with a risk of sending a negative signal especially to the youth – so as to solidify and emphasize the nature of his characters that I’m sure we can directly or indirectly identify with. In The Classic, on the one hand, we can notice one subject that pervaded in the entire movie, that is, fate or destiny. This is a really identifiable theme not just in Korean cinemas, but also in others’ as well. Also, in both movies we can see other universal and relatable topics such as the role of strong friendship ties, and yes, obligations of family.
UNPREDICTABILITY. I truly, truly love how Korean films employ a brilliant genre shift. So often we are watching a Korean movie that may be crime drama or a romantic comedy at first, and suddenly it changes and becomes something else entirely. This may be quite jarring for some and it really does take some getting used to; but for me, this very difference (the ability to change tone all of a sudden) contributes a lot to make Korean films so delightfully unique. After watching both My Sassy Girl and The Classic, I can say that unpredictable plots are truly a signature element of Korean cinema, making the storytelling in them very, very thrilling. Korean directors, even if most of them treat genre cinema influences from around the world with respect, still take on an irreverent attitude when it comes to the conventions and aims of genre cinema, enabling them to create works that break from tradition and surprise viewers with unexpected twists and collisions. Kwak Jae-Young’s masterpieces that we have witnessed in class have successfully combined elements in unexpected ways that’s why viewers like us can never be sure what’s going to happen next. Then we are left with no choice but to stay hooked throughout the film’s entirety. This is not to say that directors from many other countries are not constantly experimenting with genre; Korean film community just seems to me more adept, more brilliant, and more different in terms of injecting twist and turns in a plot from filmmakers working elsewhere. Personally, I love Korean films’ unpredictability for it defeats boredom and monotony, and at the same time builds eagerness and interest on the part of the viewers.
After everything has been said, for me it just boils down into one thing: that is, it is very refreshing to see a movie that is so willing to go outside the boundaries and offer us real characters rather than the usual stereotypes that we are, unfortunately, bombarded with today in our society. My Sassy Girl and The Classic are such movies that make us realize that not all films should reflect us as we wish to see ourselves, but show us as we are instead. This is why I respect Korean filmmakers so much – they adhere so much to their genre-bending exercise that throws in elements of comedy, traditional melodramatic romance, and et cetera, and then magically blends them into a unique cinematic experience that, for me, defies any categorization.
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Paper on Korean Cinema, Film Class at Ateneo de Manila University
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