Teaching East Asia: Korea Teaching East Asia: Korea | Page 279

KOREAN FILM AND POPULAR CULTURE
J . S . A . ( Joint Security Area )
DIRECTED BY CHAN-WOOK PARK
DVD , 110 MINUTES , 2000 , ENGLISH SUBTITLES
J . S . A . ( Joint Security Area ) is a “ reunification ” film that explores the possibility of becoming a brother to one ’ s enemy . The film became the highest grossing movie in Korean history when it was released in 2000 . The movie takes place in
© 2000 CJ Entertainment . the DMZ ( demilitarized zone ), an area considered the most heavily militarized area in the world . Through a chance encounter , two guards from opposing camps become friends until they are caught by a North Korean officer .
The film is about discovering one ’ s identity as a brother — a brother to one ’ s enemy . Each had been indoctrinated to hate and kill the other , but their friendship forms with the discovery of what can happen when enemies meet and have a chance to talk and get to know one another . Although the ending is tragic , it reminds us how difficult it is to overcome the politics of division and distrust that accumulate over time . J . S . A . makes the case that Cold War identities could be overcome if Koreans on both sides of the DMZ have opportunities to openly meet and have genuine conversations with one another . ■
The Way Home ( Jibeuro )
WRITTEN AND DIRECTED BY LEE JEONG-HYANG
DVD , 90 MINUTES , 2002 , ENGLISH SUBTITLES
Other recent films reflect nostalgia for simpler times and Confucian values of honor , family , and respect , which seem to be disappearing in a society undergoing radical change . The Way Home , released by Korea ’ s most commercially successful
© 2004 Showbox . female director , Lee Jeong-hyang , highlights aspects of rural life that have been lost in the course of rapid economic growth . The film captures the differences between rural and urban Korea by showing the relationship between a very spoiled seven-yearold city boy and his seventy-seven year old grandmother , who has spent her entire life in a remote mountain village . It also conveys the gap between the older generation who experienced war , poverty , and authoritarian government , and the young who are growing up in a democracy with material comforts that include cell phones , Internet access , and music videos . Most importantly , the film is about the unconditional love that grows between a young boy and his grandmother .
The opening scene of The Way Home introduces Sang Woo , who is traveling from Seoul with his single mother , who has fallen on hard times and needs to leave her child with her elderly mother in a mountainous region of South Korea while she finds a job . The grandmother is hunchbacked , mute , and illiterate , but works tirelessly without complaining to care for her grandson . Her home has no electricity , no indoor plumbing , and no access to fast-food restaurants . Sang Woo immediately dislikes the place , spends most of his time playing his Game Boy , and treats his grandmother with disrespect . He refuses to eat anything except the food and drink his mother has left for him .
The film is deliberately slow-paced to imitate life in the countryside . The Way Home is a simple and very touching drama about the
Guard duty on the line . Screen capture from the film . © 2000 CJ Entertainment .
A brother to one ’ s enemy . Screen capture from the film . © 2000 CJ Entertainment .
healing power of love . Sang Woo desperately misses everything about what he took for granted in Seoul , but in time , the unconditional love of his grandmother touches the boy ’ s heart . The film will lead to interesting classrooms discussions about family life , to which every student can relate . ■
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