Authors
Mark G. A. Morris
Topics
Asian Culture and Media StudiesCinema and Media StudiesJapanese History and CultureFor Korea's confident and well-capitalized film industry, summer is a season to pull out the stops and offer the South Korean --and increasingly international --audience the most spectacular products it can produce. In the summer of 2006, one such blockbuster was the film Hanbando ('The Korean Peninsula'). It was produced by a syndicate of major companies headed by market leader CJ Entertainment and directed by Kang Woo-suk, well-known for genre action films like the Two Cops franchise and the Public Enemy films, and the nationalistic action thriller Silmido. The film was backed by a huge advertising budget and saturation bookings: it occupied 550 screens during the opening week, roughly one out of every three in South Korea. The film seemed destined to be the phenomenon of the summer releases.Hanbando is set in the near future. The two Koreas are moving swiftly towards reunification. On screen appears TV-news footage showing families being reunited, sports teams combining members from North and South, road links opening. Now it is the turn of the railways. However, when the Japanese and other foreign representatives fail to appear at a grand ceremony to celebrate the re-opening of the rail link between Seoul and Pyongyang, signs are that reunification may be blocked. The villain behind the scenes proves to be Japan. On the basis of treaties signed, with highly questionable legality, during its take-over of the peninsula a century ago, Japan now lays claim to 'its' railway system. Below I will try to give some idea of what the film is like, unravelling a sample of the narrative -roughly, the first half-hour -and adding a few considerations considering cinematic style plus a brief introduction to three of the film's cast. Then, after some consideration of the makers of the film and of the critical reaction to Hanbando, the essay will return to look at several general aspects of film content and style. On the way to a conclusion, some observations will extend to recent Japanese films and to the Japanese media market for South Korean film. Rather than simply criticize the film, though criticize it I will, this essay will try to suggest how an artistic and financial failure can reveal interesting lessons about South Korea's contemporary film culture.
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PublishedOct 1, 2008
TypeArticle
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