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I just realized that today is July 4th and that means that it is the fifth anniversary of Seen In Jeonju!  Although the blog archives on the left of this screen do not reflect it, the first post on this site was July 4th, 2007.  The reason the dates do not match is that in the summer of 2009, the original host server went out of business and the site had to be relaunched later that year. However, with the help of some readers, many of the views that were thought lost were recovered and re-posted. 

I find it amazing that after five years of writing this blog, I have not tired of it. In fact, I look forward to working on it and updating it whenever I have free time.  Five years is just the beginning and I hope Seen In Jeonju continues for a long time to come.

I want to thank everyone who reads Seen In Jeonju and I especially want to thank Darcy Paquet, owner of Koreanfilm.org which hosts this blog, for his kindness and support over the years. It was his suggestion that I start blogging for Koreanfilm.org that led to the creation of this site and for that I owe him a debt of gratitude.

This week there is just one Korean movie being released on DVD, the romantic comedy You’re My Pet.  It was directed by Kim Byeong-gon and stars Kim Han-eul and Jang Geun-seok.  Number of discs : 1/ Subtitles: Korean and English/ Rating: for ages 12+/ Format: 2.35:1 anamorphic widescreen/ Audio: Dolby Digital 5.1/ Running Time: 110 minutes/ Suggested Retail Price: 25,300 KRW/ Available: July 5

I didn’t really feel like posting anything tonight.  A few hours ago I learned that Sassy, my beautiful friend, passed away today.  Although technically she belonged to my mother and really only saw me for a month or two out of the year, we were very close… much closer than I have ever been to an animal before. And she was more affectionate to meet than to some of my siblings whom she saw on a regular basis.  We just hit it off from the first time we met.  Sassy was adopted out of an animal shelter when she was less than a year old.  Her original owners had named her “Baby” and apparently told the shelter staff that they had wanted to raise a puppy as practice for when their own child was born. As it was getting close to the end of the pregnancy, they no longer wanted the dog as they didn’t think they could handle a pet and a child.  There may have been some abuse as Sassy, in the first week of living in my mother’s house, used to cringe whenever she saw a broom, though she soon got over that.  She was never hit or scolded in the entire twelve years that she lived with my family.. there was never any need to scold her.  She was incredibly well-behaved and only wanted to please. She was the least dog-like dog I have ever known. And the smartest.

Unfortunatley Rottweilers do not live long.. 10-13 years on average.  She had been diagnosed with stomach cancer recently, a problem in her breed but because of her age they could not guarentee successful surgery. She seemed fine though and ate normally.. until this week.  She had to be taken to the vet and was put to sleep.  I wish that I had been there to be able to say goodbye.

I will miss her more than I can express.

  With the following editorial, I think it is important that I remind readers that the opinions expressed were written by the editor of the Independent in 1896, nearly 120 years ago and are definitely not shared by me. Unfortunately, the attitudes reflected here are accurate examples of how many in western nations viewed the east at that time.– tom

Editorial

There are many papers in the home land which ridicule the idea that Japan is or will soon be a serious competitor in the markets of the world. <We saw an example of the ridicule in the April 30th issue of the Indendent via an exerpt from the New York Maritime Register–tom> We think differently and can show more or less reason for our belief.

In the first place notice that in these days of minute division of labor the manufacturer of even delicate instruments is largely a matter of turning the crank. Machinery does it all and there is less call for that all-round, intelligent skill in the individual that was found a century ago. Now the Japanese are celebrated for their deftness and they can learn to run machinery and they have learned to run it about as well as the Westerner.  They have not as yet gotten machinery of a fine enough quality to begin to compete seriously with English or American goods that are shipped from Europe to supply eastern peoples who are not extremely particular as to the finish of the goods so long as they can get them cheap. Here is where the Japanese competition has already been felt.  For instance, Japanese matches are not quite up to standard of the Austrian matches in the point of finish but they light a fire about as well and are astonishingly cheap.  It did not take the East long to decide between the two. These Eastern peoples are not going to pay a large bonus for a little extra finish.

In the second place, no enlightened people can at present compete with the Asiatic in the cost of living. Why is it that the Japanese can live on so much less than the American? Simply because the Japanese people have for centuries been schooled in the matter of economy, their population being so large compared with the arable area of their country, while the American people have been living like a young man who has just fallen heir to a great fortune and doesn’t know how to spend it fast enough. Among the rural population of France or Germany we should probably find the cost of living much nearer the Japanese figure for there too populations is relatively great. This factor in the problem will right itself gradually for we see a constant tendency in the U.S. to a reduction in the cost of the necessities of life while in Japan te tendency toward manufacturing has resulted in a rise all along the line of wages. Every commodity has appreciated in value so that we find a gradual equalizing tendency at work. The more Japan advances the more numerous will be her needs for civilization is nothing more than a creation of needs to be supplied.

We are in sympathy with the demand along the Pacific coast of the U.S. that American labor shall not be called upon to compete with Japanese labor in America. It would mean that the American laborer would have to give up some of his legitimate needs and descend in grade of civilization where he would eat, work and sleep and little else. <This offhand reference refers to a particularly shameful period of American History which attempted to ban Asian immigrants from entering the US after the railroads were completed. The Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 banned Chinese, and later all Asians (1924), from owning land in the US, marrying whites and, eventually, from legally entering the US even if they had been living there for years. Japanese and other Asians were included in this act which was strengthened several times over he decades but were not specifically targetted until the Gentleman’s Agreement Act of 1907 which banned the immigration of Japanese men–women were still allowed to enter, often as ‘picture’ (mail-order) brides.  These acts were not repealed until after WWII. With his attitude, it is easy to forget that editor and founder of the Independent, Philip Jaisohn, was a US immigrant himself from Korea albeit not of the laboring class and living on the Atlantic coast where Asian immigrants were relatively rare–tom>

The Eastern market is so vast and the demand is increasing so rapidly that Japan can never supply it and in the effort to do so the cost of wages will be so enhanced that European goods will still be able to hold their place.

Brief Notices

Rev. H.G. Appenzeller returned on Saturyday from his trip to Pyeng Yang.

The score of the baseball game Saturday was twenty-three to neneteen in favor of the American residents. The game was well attended by the ladies and by several Korean officials. It was hoped that some of our English friends would participate in the game but they did not find it convenient to do so.

The Royal Messenger to the North, Yi Chong Keun, has returned from his mission to Ham Kyung province. The disturbances there have ceased and the condition of things is normal.

On Saturday, Capt. Cho Kwan Heun started for Kang Neung with 200 soldiers, Lieut. Yu Sung Wun for Su Won with sixty and Lieut. Yi Pyung Kyu for Kwang Ju with one company.

On Saturday the eight criminals convicted of complicacy in the events of Oct. 8th, started by steamer from Chemulpo for their various places of banishment.

At the request of the students of the Royal English School they have been allowed to assume military dress.  It will be a great change in student life. We commed the spirit of these progressive yung Koreans and trust that with western garments they will also adopt some of the more useful western ideas. <This becomes a serious issue in the weeks to come and touches off a dangerous rivalry between the editor of this newspaper and conservatives in the government. This will be played out in the coming months–tom>

A male child named Sun Kapi, four years old, wearing red cotton clothes and red shoes, was lost last Saturday. If any one finds himhe will please send him to his parent, Yi Gab Keun, a policeman in Ke Dong.

Sim Neung Wun of Tong Chin has been feeding the poor of that district for the last three months for his own granary. His beneficiaries number over 140.

Minister of Finance, Sim Sang Hun, will assume the duties of his office today. Minster of Education, Sin Ki Sun will return to Seoul in a few days. Minister of the Royal Household returned to his country home yesterday.

The police department has posted guards at several places on Nam San to watch for timber thieves.

Capt. Kim Whang Whan met a band of insurgents in Kim Wha district on the 5th and had a sharp engagement. The insurgens lost heavily and the remainder were dispersed. The captain caught three men and executed them in the public street.

No Chil Sung of Kwang Ju, formerly of Seoul, had a lottery establishment here on the broad street. Last year the Government prohibited he lottery in the city and so No went to Kwang Ju and became a farmer. A few days ago, three Seoul men went down to his place and arrested him ostensibly by order of the Commissioner of Police. While making the arrest, they looted his house. They then brought him to Seoul and, leaving him in the street near the pagoda, made off. No went to the Police Headquarters and found that no order had been issued for his arrest. He lodged a complaint and two of the culprits have been caught.

300 Japanese soldiers arrived in Seoul a few days ago to relieve the guard who will start for Japan today. They are 800 in number and have been here for two years.

Saturday afternoon the Japanese residents of Chin Ko Kai gave a farewell reception to the Japanese army officers and soldiers who are leaving. Minister Komura, Consul Uchida and other prominent officials made speeches and the Colonel made a reply. At the end the whole assembly gave three cheers for the Emperor of Japan.

To the Editor of the Independent: Dear Sir,   Since last February the courts of Seoul have refused to take up and adjudicate cases involving business relations. I would call the attention of the authorities to the fact that the refusal to entertain such cases has caused much inconvenience amont the people as there is no way to adjust such matters according to law. I voice the sentiment of the peopl in expressing the hope that the courts of law will soon be open to any and every case that is brought before them. Yours respectfully, Kim Yun Po

This weekend the Superbowl is being held in the USA and I, being an American, am supposed to care.. especially since, being from New England, I am expected to care for the Patriots. Well, I don’t care.  I think I have seen two football games in my life… both were Seahawks games while I was in Seattle. I prefer the real football aka soccer.  I find it exciting, the players interesting and I love the fact that the clock doesn’t stop everytime somebody falls down. (I hate that about basketball too.. the clock says there are ten minutes left and you wind up unable to change the channel for another 40 minutes…because someone else in the room wants to see the end of the game).  Anyway, I was skyping with family members who were talking about the upcoming game and my mind wandered to Korean movies (as always) and I wondered when the first sports film was made and which sport was highlighted.  When considering films I did not concern myself with movies that simply showed a sport, but ones where an athlete or game was the main focus of the story. I had three suspicions about what the first sport in Korean film might be.  I thought it would come down to Baseball, Soccer or Boxing.  While searching I came across a few suprises.  The earliest sport committed to film in Korea was Tennis in a documentary made in 1924 entitled The National Women’s Tennis Tournament that screened in July of that year.  But I was not planning to include non-fiction or news reels, just fiction with actors playing the roles of athletes. Here is what I found:

Baseball:  The sport of baseball has been played in Korea for more than a century. If you have been following the Independent posts, you will have seen that baseball was being played informally by the American residents of Seoul in 1896. And in the past few years, there have been many examples of baseball-themed movies.. more than any other sport.   Glove, Scout, Superstar Mr. Gam,Perfect Game, Rolling Stars are some recent examples…and three of those listed were just in the last year.  But when was the first.  The earliest I could find was suprisingly recent. It was made in 1976 by Lee Won-se and was called Rocking Horse and Girl (pictured right).  You would never be able to tell from the pictured advertisement nor the poster of the second baseball movie that same year, Prayer of a Girl, that these movies had anything to do with sports.  In fact, the game took a back seat to the romance aspect of the stories.  For example, the following is the plot summary of Rocking Horse and Girl.  Sang-gyu is a college baseball player in the midst of crisis.  He is in a career-threatening slump. However, he meets and falls in love with Jeong-eun who becomes the center of his life. However, he proves to be unlucky in love as well as baseball for Jeong-eun is suffering from a progressive form of anemia and is likely to die without regular transfusions or a marrow transplant. Sang-gyu is anxious to help and is willing to donate, but that would mean he would have to miss a major baseball tournament and that would damage any chance of a sports career he has. Jeong-eun opts to disappear without a word. She returns to watch the big game which is won by Sang-gyu, but Jeong-eun dies in the stands during before the final inning.

Soccer:  The international game of futbol has far fewer movies about it in Korean cinema than baseball, but its first game was nearly a decade earlier.  Pictured left is the poster of Barefoot Glory helmed by the famous and prolific director, Kim Soo-yong.  The story is also more directly related to the game of soccer than the first baseball film was to sport.  It is the story of Joo-yeong who starts training a group of orphans to play soccer and compete in an national match for children.  But the children are extremely poor, they cannot even afford to buy shoes and their ball is made out of strips of cloth.  They lose game after game while training for the big match, but the coach never gives up on them and both coach and team grow closer together.  Eventually, they are able to enter the national games and win.  More than 40 years later, we were given a movie with nearly the exact same plot from director Kim Tae-gyun, Barefoot Dreams (pictured right), except that it was set in East Timor.  Soccer films have had their share of melodrama as well. The 1972 film Mother Love was the story of a woman who was slowly losing her eyesight and her son is accepted onto the national soccer team and her sight fails completely while watching his big game on television, but she is happy because she has something to be proud of.

Boxing:  There are many Korean movies filmed in the 1960s that had scenes of people attending boxing matches as a first or second date.  Without looking anything up I can name two off hand, Early Rain (one of my favorite movies) and Barefoot Youth.  But these were not about athletes and the boxing scenes are just stock footage.  In fact, the first boxing movie comes early than these 1960-something films.  It was in 1959, that director No Pil’s movie, Vanished Dream, hit theaters starring the two-fisted, action hero Choi Moo-ryong.  In the movie, he plays a boxer who has high hopes of entering the Olympics.  In fact, he seems like he is a success in many parts of his life. He is content with his choice of careers and in love with a beautiful young woman whose purity is a shining light giving him hope.  But, that virginal purity is all an act for his benefit. His girlfriend actually works in a bar and has quite the reputation among the men in the surrounding neighborhood.  When the boxer learns of this, he is devestated and turns to drink for comfort, much to the chagrin of his coach.  However, with persist urgings and encouragement, the coach is able to pull him out of the depths of despair and eventually the boxer does indeed make it to the Olympics. This movie was followed fairly quickly by several other boxing films, but this remains the first.

But was this the very first sports film?  Unfortunatly, I cannot answer that because there is some lost information.  I found a second potential sports film released in 1959 called Angel In White and the Hunchback.  However, the release date of this movie is not known, so I do not know which film came first.  I may be able to find it later, but I have not been through the Chosun Ilbo of the 1950s yet.  Oh– and the sport that may have been featured in that film was rugby.  Again, with a lot of information missing on the movie, I do not know if the game was actually featured or if it was just incidental to the story.  What I know is that the main character is now called a hunchback because of a life-changing injury he suffered in the game. 

I looked at other sports to be sure I had my bases covered. Basketball movies came quite late in Korea and they have always been rare. Track and Field had its first movie back in 1965 and even Dodgeball had a film made, albeit a children’s film (Shoot Fireworks, Tonkey!) in 1993.

Because so much is unknown about The Angel in White and the Hunchback, I will dub Vanished Dream as the first sports-themed movie made in Korea.

Addition– Taekwondo: Matt in the comment section asked about Taekwondo.  Seeing how it  is the national sport of Korea, I really should have included it in my initial writing, but while I had researched it, I had left it out.  I will correct that oversight now.  When starting to look for Taekwondo movies, I thought I would have to wade through dozens of martial arts films that have someone training in taekwondo, but were not actually sports movies (any more than Jackie Chan’s Drunken Master could be considered a sports film. However, while that would have been the case in the 70s when Hong Kong-style action movies were popular, I was lucky.  The first Taekwondo film was made in 1967 called The Final Showdown.  Directed by Kim Mook, it tells the story of two rival training schools with different techniques of study, claiming to be the most authentic and pure form of taekwondo.  One of the school’s master students goes into the mountains and concentrates on his training and later returns to participate in a match, soundly beating the rival school and earning the title of True Taekwondo for his gym. While this is the first Taekwondo-themed movie, Boxing still retains the title of being the first sport in Korean film.

Initially, I was not going to do a post about my favorite films of last year. I had returned from travelling after the new year had already begun and felt it was too late.  ‘Best of’ posts are more usually seen immediately before or after January 1, not three weeks into the month. However, a friend suggested that I write my opinion on the films I liked from last year, so here it is. Actually, I liked many more films than are on this list.. These are just what I thought were the best. 

10.  White—I am starting the list with a choice that I need to defend.  White is a horror film that as horror probably does not succeed.  The ghost in the movie is painfully predictable even if there is a nice twist in the mystery surrounding her.  There were very few, if any scares. However, I liked it as a commentary on the state of Korean pop-music and what singers have to do in order to succeed in that very competitive field. I also liked the way it depicted the public face of a singing group which we are often shown as being close friends and unified in all the bands decisions and the private, behind-the-scenes reality where there are rivalries and in-fighting.

9. Leafie: A Hen Into the Wild—When I first started writing this list, I left Leafie off and instead had War of the Arrows in this slot.  But that latter film is maybe a little too slick for its own good and I remember there was some reliance on special effects that annoyed me while I watched it. I selected Leafie instead, one of two animated movies on this list.  Leafie is the story of a hen who has escaped from a life of producing eggs on an assembly line to attempt survival in the wild. She comes to care for a duck hatchling and their tale, may remind some viewers of the classic movie/book Watership Downs.  It has some childish aspects to keep children interested, but the story is strong and moving enough that adults will also enjoy it.

8. Late Blossoms—I am a little surprised that this film has not gotten more attention. I hope it is not because the cast is made up of actors and actresses in their senior years. If someone has been avoiding watching this movie because of that, they are missing out on one of the best films of 2011.  It is the story of older two couple; one who are just beginning a new love relationship with each other and the other who have been in love with each other their whole lives. It is a very emotional film. The first couple struggles with economic hardships, the woman collects recyclables from the street and the man delivers milk but it is the second couple that won’t leave a dry eye in the house. Kim Soo-mi’s character is suffering from Alzheimer’s and is cared for by her hard-working and devoted husband. 

7. Frontline—If you compare this film with Taegukgi, then it is going to come up a little short. But if you take Frontline for what it is, a tense, well-crafted war story, then you won’t be disappointed. In the movie, a ceasefire is fast approaching toward the end of the Korean War and the North and South armies jockey for position to determine where the new border will be drawn between the new nations.  Shin Ha-gyun’s character is sent to the frontline to investigate one of the unit’s there whose commanding officer has been killed by ‘friendly fire.’  What he finds terrifies him—not simply because of the expected brutality of the war, but because of what the soldiers have become in order to cope with their daily horrors. Shin is always a joy to watch onscreen and his co-stars do an excellent job in this movie as well.

6. Dooman River— The Dooman River is a wide body of water separating North Korea from China. In the dead of winter, the river freezes solid and this enables the citizens of each country to walk back and forth between them.  In the movie, we focus on a run-down little community that had sprung up on the banks of the river. During the winter, death surrounds them through starvation and freezing temperatures.  As the winter progresses, more and more North Koreans cross the river. Some are trying to escape and start a new life in China or South Korea, but some are making raids for food to bring back to their families.  The little village begins to suffer heavily through these actions as livestock disappears and food stores are raided. When these raids take a more personal note, one young boy in the village, powerless to stop what is happening to his family and neighbors, decides to take matters into his hands the only way he can.

5. Silenced—Never mind the minor indignation of the men’s groups when they protested the film You’re My Pet this year, Silenced is hand down the most controversial movie on 2011.  It will leave you feeling frustrated and angry, which is exactly what it set out to do.  The film is based on a novel which itself is based on actual events. (But as we were reminded each night on the news for about two weeks while this movie was screening, “based on a true story’ is not the same as ‘is a true story.’)  The story is about a new teacher coming to work in a school for the hearing impaired and the abuse and corruption he finds there.  The tension is high whether the scenes are taking place within the horrible conditions of the school or in the courthouse which takes up the latter half of the movie.  This film led to a much wider understanding and awareness of what physically challenged members of society have had to endure and gave them a voice. Many demonstrations in support of people with physical and mental challenges sprung up in the wake of this movie.

4. Punch—There could have been a danger of this film being horribly gloomy or unbearably preachy given the subject matter, however it is neither. Instead, Punch is a lighthearted tale of a boy named Wan-deuk, his unusual family, and the teacher who takes an interest in his success. Wan-deuk’s father and ‘uncle’ are disabled. His mother, who had abandoned the family years ago but who has once again appeared, is a Filipina. His family is quite poor and his scores in school are not good at all and he is considered a troublemaker. The new teacher, who at first appears antagonistic to Wan-deuk and, as his neighbor, never leaves the boy alone even after school, understands Wan-deuk’s hardships completely as the two are quite similar. The teacher takes on the role of mentor for the boy and attempts to save him from the role society already seems to have picked out for him.

3. King of Pigs— A year or two ago, I had seen one of director Yoon Sang-ho’s short animations and, to this day, I cannot tell you if I liked it or not. It was violent and it was cruel but most of all, it was memorable. King of Pigs strikes me in the same way. I do not care for the themes of merciless bullying and the quest for revenge taken to extremes, but the film is extremely well done and is really unforgettable.  The story is of two adults, one of whom has just brutally murdered his wife, trying to sort out where their lives went wrong. Their memories take us to their childhood and the middle school they attended which was divided into the ‘dogs’, popular, well-to-do boys who ruled the school and the ‘pigs’ who were the rest of the students, not financially well off and maybe a little quieter or more timid. Among the pigs, a hero eventually rises to put an end to the bullying in a violent manner that frankly removes all sympathy I had for them.  This is a disturbing animated movie that will make you think and is as far removed from the other animated film on this list, Leafie, as you can get.

2.  Journal of Musan— We often think that when someone from North Korea defects to the South, that they will have a better life. In fact, that is rarely the case. National identification numbers immediately show a defector’s status even if speech patterns do not and this negatively affects the chances of getting good employment.  In fact, it may be easier to be an illegal immigrant in South Korea than it is to live as a North Korean refugee.  The movie follows a man from the northern town of Musan, Seung-cheol, as he tries to create a new life for himself based on honesty and hard work only to be thwarted at every turn by the cruelty of others.  He is considered a second-class citizen and stereotyped as lazy or a thief.  The horrible treatment he endures is softened for his growing love of a woman who goes to his church and the companionship of his dog, but even these are uncomfortably unstable and could vanish from his life at any minute.  The movie is based on the life of a friend of the director, a North Korean immigrant who passed away of stomach cancer at the age of 30. It is a wonderfully crafted film with a story that may leave the viewer feeling a little angry at the treatment the characters receive.

1. Sunny—Despite the fact that most of the films I really enjoyed have rather a heavy theme to them, the light, happy film of Sunny was my favorite film of 2011. Oh, it is not without its emotional ups and downs, but the film never becomes mired in sadness or even in the nostalgia which it depicts so well.  When I first walked into the film I did not really have much in the way of expectations.  The story was about a group of middle-aged women reflecting on the events in their childhood that cemented their friendship. I did not know if the movie was going to hold my interest.  I should not have worried. As soon as you are transported into Sunny’s 1980s Korea, you will be captivated as I was. Her cheerful nature is contagious and her quirky friends are people whom you want to know.  The film even touches on some of the historical events of the time such as rioting, but they do not take precedence in the movie which is told from a schoolgirl’s perspective. The battles and triumphs of herself and her friends are what is important to her and by extension, us.  If you can only see one film from 2011, I think this should be it.

So there is my list of my favorite films from last year.  How about my least favorite? Well, if I think something will be bad I won’t watch it. I suspect Super Monkey Returns would have been the worst film, but as I have not seen it, I cannot say for sure. Among the movies I saw last year, there was only one I really hated, Sector 7.  I was tricked into seeing it by the cast, flashy trailers and the lure of it being a monster movie.  I know eventually I will wind up with the DVD just because I wind up buying everything, but if I watch it again, it will be with the sound off….

The new movie Immortals proved itself by landing in number two, forcing Real Steal down a notch, but it was unable to displace the surprise powerhouse of the autumn, Punch which is well on its way to four million viewers. The new Korean films, You’re My Pet and Penny Pinchers, fared well on the list, but had rather lackluster percentages and will likely fall to the bottom of the top ten next week as many new films open this week.

Usually I do this at the beginning of the week, but preparing a daily post leading up to Halloween made it difficult– I really have learned to respect people who can do multiple or daily posts on a regular basis…  Anyway, there was only one DVD of a Korean movie to be released this week, LINK starring Ryu Deok-hwan and Kwak Ji-min. However, like the majority of DVDs put out last week, this film has not been given English subtitles! Is this a new trend where the smaller, indie films or those that did not do well in the box office tallies will not be subbed? I guess time will tell.  Here are the details of the DVD: Number of discs: 1/ Subtitles: Korean/ Rating: Ages 18+/ Format: 1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen/ Audio: Dolby Digital 5.1/ Running Time: 105 minutes/ Recommended Price: 22,000 KRW/ Available: November 2nd.