Screaming Silently: Haan, Contemporary South Korean Cinema, and Emotional Realism", University of Southampton, Film Studies Department, Phd Thesis

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University of Southampton Faculty of Arts and Humanities Film Studies Screaming Silently: Haan, Contemporary South Korean Cinema, and Emotional Realism by Ryan Philip Gardener ORCID ID 0000-0002-3736-2318 Thesis for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy March 2020 University of Southampton Abstract Faculty of Arts and Humanities Film Studies Thesis for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Screaming Silently: Haan, Contemporary South Korean Cinema, and Emotional Realism by Ryan Philip Gardener Through this thesis I examine how popular contemporary South Korean cinema addresses, appeals to, and is shaped by Korea’s social, historical, and cultural context, specifically by drawing on the cultural concept of haan – a national sentiment that draws on notions of accumulated suffering and resentment in the Korean context. Rather than viewing haan as an essential component of South Korean cinema – as has often been the critical tendency – I seek to understand the function of haan within that cinema. My first chapter establishes a framework for examining haan, by understanding cinematic evocation of haan in relation to emotional realism – a mode of address that communicates the emotion of reality, if not its factual or aesthetic reality. Seen in respect to emotional realism, I argue, haan communicates Korean social and historical realism through emotional address. My second chapter charts Korean cinema’s portrayal of the 1980 Gwangju Democratic Uprising and argues how, despite the film- to-film differences in representation, haan is a constant in how Korean cinema emotionally frames the events of Gwangju, and thus mediates them within South Korean cultural memory. My third chapter focuses on a recent wave of films set during Korea’s 1910 to 1945 colonisation by Japan, drawing on consistencies in how haan is evoked during these films’ thematic elaboration of various issues relating to national identity. My fourth chapter, focusses on how haan manifests in South Korea’s blockbuster cinema, arguing that haan is frequently structured into cinematic spectacle, often through the creation of emotional spectacle. Through this structure, and predominantly through textual analysis, my thesis discusses how haan’s cinematic evocation appeals to the national by drawing on sentiments of deep cultural resonance within the Korean context. Such appeal, when afforded precedence in the textual assemblage of a film, I argue, is of great significance to some of South Korean cinema’s most culturally important and domestically successful films. List of Contents: List of Tables ........................................................................................................................................................ i Research Thesis: Declaration of Authorship ..................................................................................... iii Author’s Note ...................................................................................................................................................... v Introduction.........................................................................................................................................................1 Literature Review .......................................................................................................................................... 19 Emotional Realism in the Korean Cinematic Context ................................................................... 49 Remembering Gwangju: Haan, Cinema, and the Cultural Memory of the Gwangju Democratic Uprising ..................................................................................................................................... 77 Constructing Nation: Colonial Era Korea in the Popular Cinematic Imaginary ............ 121 ‘Wow, Korean Firefighters Should Join the Avengers’: A Cinema of Cultural Attractions in Korea’s Mainstream Cinema ............................................................................................................ 167 Conclusion ...................................................................................................................................................... 211 Bibliography .................................................................................................................................................. 221 Filmography .................................................................................................................................................. 235 List of Tables: Table 1 – Korean Films of the 10 Million Club (as of January 2020)......................................7 i ii Research Thesis: Declaration of Authorship Print name: Ryan Philip Gardener Title of thesis: Screaming Silently: Haan, Contemporary South Korean Cinema, and Emotional Realism I declare that this thesis and the work presented in it is my own and has been generated by me as the result of my own original research. I confirm that: 1. This work was done wholly or mainly while in candidature for a research degree at this University; 2. Where any part of this thesis has previously been submitted for a degree or any other qualification at this University or any other institution, this has been clearly stated; 3. Where I have consulted the published work of others, this is always clearly attributed; 4. Where I have quoted from the work of others, the source is always given. With the exception of such quotations, this thesis is entirely my own work; 5. I have acknowledged all main sources of help; 6. Where the thesis is based on work done by myself jointly with others, I have made clear exactly what was done by others and what I have contributed myself; 7. None of this work has been published before submission. Signature: Date: iii iv Author’s Note As a general rule, in this thesis I transcribe Korean terms using Revised Romanisation transliteration (RR transliteration). However, in cases where alternative spellings are the norm, commonly accepted transliterations are used – as in the case of hangul (the most commonly used writing system in Korea; transcribed han-geul in RR). My spelling of haan, throughout this thesis, is a notable deviation to RR transliteration. Denoted ‘恨’in hanja (Korean-Chinese characters), what I denote as haan is transliterated as ‘한’ in hangul. Yet the hangul ‘한’ (transcribed han in RR) possesses several other meanings, including meanings associated with other hanja characters. To avoid ambiguity, I follow the example of Chang-hee Son and transliterate ‘恨’ as ‘haan’, in a manner perhaps closer to the term’s pronunciation; Son notes ‘haan is pronounced with an extended “ä” sound (as if spoken in a long sigh) hence the reason for the double letter’.1 Korean names are here presented with family name followed by given name – as is traditional practice in Korea – except for when referring to authors who present their name with family name last. They are also transcribed according to their given, or most frequently used spellings, as in the case of director Park Chan-wook (박찬욱, transcribed Bak Chan-uk in RR). Throughout, terms such as ‘Korean cinema’, ‘Korean film’, and ‘the Korean film industry’ are used interchangeably with ‘South Korean cinema’, ‘South Korean film’, and ‘the South Korean film industry’, respectively. Given that South Korean cinema provides the context for this thesis, the reason for this is not to dismiss or neglect the existence of North Korean cinema (which is not discussed in this thesis) but simply an attempt at concision. 1 Chang-hee Son, Haan of Minjung Theology and Han of Han Philosophy: In the Paradigm of Process Philosophy and Metaphysics of Relatedness (Maryland: University Press of America, 2000), 4. v vi Introduction Introduction Through this thesis I examine how popular South Korean cinema addresses, appeals to, and is shaped by a Korean context indicative of not just geographical location but social, political, and cultural history. In doing so, I centre my discussion around the concept of haan, a cultural concept often perceived as integral to how Korean people relate to the experience of being Korean, and to notions of Koreanness. Despite its perceived significance to national identity, haan has received little in the way of comprehensive critical analysis in the international discourse surrounding Korean cinema. This thesis addresses this tendency and, predominantly through textual analysis, argues that haan is frequently used to shape thematic and emotional address, and representation in contemporary South Korean cinema. As Hye Seung Chung notes, ‘[haan] can be vaguely

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