Director and writer Kwak Jae-yong's film the classic is a melodramatic romance that simultaneously tells the love stories of a mother and daughter. But there is much more to this movie than just a beautiful love story. By examining the political back drop of the movie and understanding a little more about Korean history, a much more complex situation is revealed. The director has done an incredible job of subtlety telling us the political reality of Korea in the 1970's and even has the boldness of suggesting a solution to The Korean Peninsulas most troubling problem, reunification with the north.
When analyzing film or literature, it's important to pay attention to detail. Especially when something seems out of place. It usually means the writer is trying to tell us something. One thing that struck me as odd right away, was the white doves in the opening scene of the film. Why were the birds white doves? And why did Ji-hye have such difficulty swooshing them away? This is a subtle message that will be examined in more detail during the conclusion. First we must understand the historical back drop of the film.
Korea in the 1960's and 70's was a time of change, political and social turmoil, and a time when Korea was struggling with its identity. This was the third republic and the president was Major General Park Chung-hee. Under Park Koreas economy greatly increased, however many Koreans were frustrated with the harsh autocratic ways of the regime. Students and teachers unions led many demonstrations and protests leading to sometimes violent clashes. This is illustrated constantly in the film with repetitive military images and the fact that two of the main characters are doing there mandatory military time. We see that the military is often cruel in its handling with the young men as they are beaten for seemingly no reason at all. Also we see images of the student protests of the autocratic military regime. Despite these images in the movie, some would agree that Park was an effective administrator and did help Korea on the path to what they are today a highly successful liberal democracy. Also it's important to know that Park was a staunch anti-communist and desired for Korean reunification.
So how is this reflected in the film? I believe that Joo-hee and Joon-ha's heartbreaking and traumatic love story is meant to represent the splintering of the Korean peninsula. The two young lovers want desperately to be together, however circumstances beyond their control is preventing this from happening. Just like hundreds of thousands of relatives in North and South Korea were split due to circumstances beyond their control.
Finally let's return to the white doves in the opening scene. As we see in the beginning of the film white doves have rested on Ji-hye's window sill. These presumably wild birds do not seem at all frightened when Ji-hye approaches them, and she actually has to struggle to push them out of the window. Why is this and why did the director choose the bird of peace? I believe that the birds represent the yeaning that Korea has to reunite the peninsula, there is still a strong desire for peace. However Ji-hye represents a younger generation of Koreans that do not have that same desire to reunite with the North, not like their parents and grandparents do. This is why she unwittingly pushes the birds out the window. However, by learning about her mother's love story and the struggles that her mother went through, she is able to compose her own love story. The fact that Joo-hee's daughter and Joon-ha's son have fallen in love, represents the unification of the two Koreas. Therefore I think that the message the director is trying to make is that in order for Korea to unite its imperative that the younger generation understand the struggles that their parents and grandparents went through during those traumatic times. And just like it was Sang-min and Ji-hye's destiny to complete the unfinished love story of their parents, it is the new generation of young Koreans responsibility to help reunite the Korean peninsula before it's too late.
When analyzing film or literature, it's important to pay attention to detail. Especially when something seems out of place. It usually means the writer is trying to tell us something. One thing that struck me as odd right away, was the white doves in the opening scene of the film. Why were the birds white doves? And why did Ji-hye have such difficulty swooshing them away? This is a subtle message that will be examined in more detail during the conclusion. First we must understand the historical back drop of the film.
Korea in the 1960's and 70's was a time of change, political and social turmoil, and a time when Korea was struggling with its identity. This was the third republic and the president was Major General Park Chung-hee. Under Park Koreas economy greatly increased, however many Koreans were frustrated with the harsh autocratic ways of the regime. Students and teachers unions led many demonstrations and protests leading to sometimes violent clashes. This is illustrated constantly in the film with repetitive military images and the fact that two of the main characters are doing there mandatory military time. We see that the military is often cruel in its handling with the young men as they are beaten for seemingly no reason at all. Also we see images of the student protests of the autocratic military regime. Despite these images in the movie, some would agree that Park was an effective administrator and did help Korea on the path to what they are today a highly successful liberal democracy. Also it's important to know that Park was a staunch anti-communist and desired for Korean reunification.
So how is this reflected in the film? I believe that Joo-hee and Joon-ha's heartbreaking and traumatic love story is meant to represent the splintering of the Korean peninsula. The two young lovers want desperately to be together, however circumstances beyond their control is preventing this from happening. Just like hundreds of thousands of relatives in North and South Korea were split due to circumstances beyond their control.
Finally let's return to the white doves in the opening scene. As we see in the beginning of the film white doves have rested on Ji-hye's window sill. These presumably wild birds do not seem at all frightened when Ji-hye approaches them, and she actually has to struggle to push them out of the window. Why is this and why did the director choose the bird of peace? I believe that the birds represent the yeaning that Korea has to reunite the peninsula, there is still a strong desire for peace. However Ji-hye represents a younger generation of Koreans that do not have that same desire to reunite with the North, not like their parents and grandparents do. This is why she unwittingly pushes the birds out the window. However, by learning about her mother's love story and the struggles that her mother went through, she is able to compose her own love story. The fact that Joo-hee's daughter and Joon-ha's son have fallen in love, represents the unification of the two Koreas. Therefore I think that the message the director is trying to make is that in order for Korea to unite its imperative that the younger generation understand the struggles that their parents and grandparents went through during those traumatic times. And just like it was Sang-min and Ji-hye's destiny to complete the unfinished love story of their parents, it is the new generation of young Koreans responsibility to help reunite the Korean peninsula before it's too late.