A technique of film making that goes beyond laying an intricate and complex plot, a style of storytelling

that is layered with multiple shrouded meanings and building of characters and relationships in such a
manner that you relate to them and yet remain in awe of them- such is the intriguing quality of Korean
Cinema. Almost all Korean films create an atmosphere of nostalgia, an air of remembrance either in the
characters or sometimes within the plot itself by subtly inserting certain events or disclosing specific
symbols that would point towards a turbulent history of the character or in most cases the country
itself. Keeping in mind this multi textural feature of Korean cinema, it is extremely hard to mindlessly
categorize a film belonging to this industry into conventions such as art or entertainment. Genre as a
concept becomes irrelevant as their convoluted plot structures and layered symbolisms make these
films rise above the narrow western sensibilities, blurring all lines of genre distinction.

Though the Korean film industry does position itself towards a commercial direction and has gradually
become one of the most successful film industries in the world, to take away from its social relevance
would be a shortcoming. Films such as Memories of Murder, Sopyonje and Old Boy all have been major
box office successes winning major awards domestically as well as internationally, but all three films
have a strong background of Korea’s history as the underlying plot. The very fact that Memories of
Murder by Bong Joon Ho, a story of a serial killer whose only victims are women, is set in 1986-a difficult
and tumultuous period in South Korea’s history informs almost all of the narrative on an implicit level.
Murder mystery as a genre becomes a disguise for a deeper and an extraordinarily dense sociological
narrative. This can be seen in the beginning of the film itself with the big open fields and a dirt road that
seemingly leads to nowhere. Apart from amazing display of cinematic technique, the first few scenes
hint at a number of themes that are explored later in the narrative. the film, as mentioned earlier is set
in the 1980’s which is around the same time as the military dictatorship in Korea, each individual
character is developed and formed around the harsh political uprising in the country. The same trait is
mirrored in the film Sopyonje directed by Im Kwon Taek. At first glance the film seems to be about a
passionate singer and his tale of woe as he struggles to master the art of Pansori style music and
inculcate the same values of traditional culture into his children but once you put the storyline into the
context of Korea’s transition towards becoming modern and westernized, it is apparent that the film
goes beyond the subject of art and dives into the social and economic changes that were prominent in
Korea at the time. Though the period in history that the two films subtly point at and the genre of the
two are contrasting, the skillful manner in which the interlacing of the past and the present is done is
almost the same. While Memories of Murder uses the genre of murder mystery as a tool of
remembering the harsh time that Korea faced to attain democracy, Sopyonje adopts the subject of
music to transcend from a poignant tale of lost love and art to an analysis of the tension between the
past and the present, the pre modern and most modern Korea. Though the genres differ, both films
employ a certain style of storytelling that evinces a highly effective nostalgic air that is peculiar to
Korean cinema. Old Boy by Park Chan Wook, though a crime thriller also possesses hints of Korea’s
history and its relevance in the story. It is a story of a man who is abducted and kept in confinement for
fifteen years without knowing what his crime was and another man who spends his entire life laying a
perfect revenge plot for the death of his sister. Behind this intricate and tightly planned storyline little
crumbs of evidences are scattered in the film that will lead you to the connection of the plot with the
history of the country. In confinement, the film’s protagonist, Oh Dae Su is forced to rely on a television
set as his only connection to the outside world. Aside from showing news flashes with global impact, the
director’s choice of reproducing images from the country’s recent history such as the president being
convicted for bribery, financial problems from 1998 to 1999 and the president’s visit to North Korea
states the fragile balance of the entire Korean society as well as the voyeuristic nature of the film itself.
This disturbance and imbalance in the society also reflects on the instability of the characters in the film,
both the protagonist and the antagonist.

The inherent quality and nature of relationships between characters in Korean films are extraordinary
and at the same time highly relatable. Often, the relationships become the key driving force of the film
and add intricacy and complexity to the already convoluted plotlines. Moreover, the treatment of
certain subjects that are considered taboo in the society is also untypical and peculiar to Korean cinema.
The relationship shared between the two male characters in King and the Clown- charismatic Jansaeng
and his effeminate show partner Gong il is very delicately handled by the director. The rare chemistry
shared by them not only comes through with their togetherness but also with their absence. The deep
suffering of Jansaeng when the king get enchanted by Gong il’s beauty and the helplessness felt by Gong
il on being separated from his protective shadow is felt not only by the characters but by the audience
as well. The grace and tactfulness with which the subject of homosexuality is dealt with comes through
because of the easy acceptance of the subject by the characters in the film itself. Owing to the normality
with which homosexuality is received within the structure of the film; it makes it hard for the general
public to have a negative response to it. This subtle treatment of taboo subjects is also present in the
film Poetry by Lee Chang Dong. The film revolves around a woman in her sixties suffering from
Alzheimers disease and her struggle to cope with the anguish on discovering that her grandson was
responsible for raping his classmate and her subsequent death. The manner in which rape as
phenomena has been handled with is unconventional yet highly effective in a bizarre way. With a simple
gesture of cutting her grandson’s toenails and reprimanding him for not maintaining proper hygiene, she
succeeds in getting him to feel the weight of his actions. Again, it is the queer subtlety with which
certain issues are handled that makes these films unique and unlike any other. Another exceptional
example of this is Oldboy which tackles the subject of incest. Though the treatment of the subject is not
the same as the two mentioned above, it is unique and makes the plot even more painful and hard
hitting. what makes the usage of incest in the film distinct and unique is the way it has been used as an
aid for an already fantastic plot and not as the plot itself. It is skillfully interwoven within the storyline so
that just enough attention is given to it without making the plot revolve around it. The delicacy in the
treatment of the incestuous relationship between the brother and the sister is then mirrored in the plot
itself with a more painful portrayal of the relationship between the father and the daughter. It is
fascinating how incest is not presented as a derogatory practice in itself but instead used as a tool of
revenge and is only painful because the participants of the incestuous relationship are unaware of their
dual connection.