Imagined Memory
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Imagined Memory: Nation, Politics, and Temporality in Contemporary Korean Cinema Sofia Murell Supervisor: Marie-Aude Baronian MA Thesis Second Reader: Blandine Joret Media Studies: Film Studies University of Amsterdam Word count: 19, 756 24 June 2016 Abstract In recent years, more South Korean (henceforth Korea) filmic productions have been concerned with the representation of colonial Korea. Several studies explain this as the result of the rapid economic development of the country, or as a means to unify the nation by depicting a nationalistic sentiment. Another possible view of these representations, as I argue, lies within the temporality of the film. This study analyses the temporality involved in nationalism, which is linked to memory studies in contemporary Korean films set in colonial Korea. This research aims to investigate how the reflections of (collective) memory in these films shape Korean nationalism. In order to examine cinematic temporality, Gilles Deleuze’s concept of the time- image functions as an analytic tool in conjunction with textual analysis of the films The Silenced, Assassination, and The Last Comfort Woman (all released in 2015). This study demonstrates that nationalism is not only a consequence of economic developments, but is also a tool that helps to cope with the past. Moreover, this encourages the imagining of a collective future. Therefore, this research contributes to the studies of memory and colonial Korea by providing another interpretation of the screened past. Furthermore, it extends the possibility to use Deleuze’s concept in non-Western film industries. 2 Table of Contents Abstract ................................................................................................................................................... 2 1. Introduction ......................................................................................................................................... 4 1.1 Methodology: Using Gilles Deleuze’s Time-image ..................................................................... 9 1.1.1 Deleuze’s Time-image ......................................................................................................... 11 2. Memory and Collective Memory ...................................................................................................... 13 2.1 Collective Memory and Korean Films ........................................................................................ 14 3. Do Not Forget the Nation: A Brief History of Korean Cinema and Memory Regarding Japan ....... 18 3.1 Korean History, Cinema, and Collective Memories ................................................................... 26 3.1.1 Representations of the Past: History and Popular Films ...................................................... 27 3.1.2 Representations of the Past: Colonial Korea in Contemporary Films ................................. 31 4. Nationalism, Memory, and Time-image in The Silenced (2015) and Assassination (2015) ............. 35 4.1 Analysis I: The Silenced .............................................................................................................. 36 4.1.1 Past and Present of Colonial Korea ...................................................................................... 37 4.1.2 Memories of a Colonial Past ................................................................................................ 38 4.1.3 Time-image in The Silenced ................................................................................................ 40 4.2 Analysis II: Assassination ........................................................................................................... 42 4.2.1 Do Not Forget Me: Collective Memories of a Triumphant Present ..................................... 43 4.2.2 Time-image in Assassination ............................................................................................... 47 4.3 Conclusion Analysis ................................................................................................................... 49 5. Conclusion ........................................................................................................................................ 50 6. References ......................................................................................................................................... 56 6.1 Film List ...................................................................................................................................... 61 6.2 Figures ........................................................................................................................................ 62 3 1. Introduction The Japanese colonization period is still a sensitive issue in South Korea (hereafter Korea). In 2015, one of the most sensitive aspects between Japan and Korea was revisited, i.e. ‘comfort women’.1 During this year, several events occurred that highlighted the painful past relationship between Japan and Korea. For instance, attempts to reach an agreement with Japan on the issue of comfort women culminated in an unsatisfactory settlement for the tortured Korean women of the Japanese occupation (1910-1945) (BBC, 28 Dec. 2015). These events have always been prevalent in the memories of Korean citizens through several forms, for example, as projections (images), narrations (stories), and/or materialization (places, statues, decorations). Films combine these forms, as they present a visual past that can be considered factual or fictional. As Robert Rosenstone (2006; 1995a) suggests, motion pictures can affect the viewer’s perception of the past while making the viewer aware of what the past means to us today. Not only was 2015 important because of the ‘unfair’ settlement concerning comfort women, but also because several filmmakers addressed the colonial period of Korea, as the year marked 70 years of independence from Japan. As films recall and reconstruct memories (Rosenstone, Visions of the Past 15-6), I focus on the representation of collective memories of the ‘imagined’ Korea during the Japanese colonization rule in contemporary Korean films of 2015. Furthermore, I analyse how the presented memories echo in the present and construct a possible future of the nation by still depicting a nationalist sentiment. Nevertheless, this portrayed nationalism diverges from previously screened nationalistic films. Additionally, 2015 is relevant for two reasons. First, it marks the resolution settlement of the longstanding issue of comfort women. Second, in that year, the three released films – Assassination (Choi Dong-hoon), The Silenced (Lee Hae-young), and The Last Comfort Woman (Lim Seon) – concerning colonial Korea and labelled under the action genre, have female protagonists. This is atypical, as the Korean action genre is characterised by the predominance of male lead actors that emphasise male power (Chung 10-1). The film The Last Comfort Woman is not analysed in-depth here because of accessibility problems. Notwithstanding, its plot is included in the discussion. Moreover, addressing these three 1 Comfort women is a term that refers to young girls and women who were kidnapped by the Japanese Imperial Army during the colonization of Korea. These young women were raped, tortured, and used as sex slaves by the Japanese soldiers during World War II. 4 feature films complicates historical and temporal dimensions of colonial Korea, as they depict the past in the present, and the present in the past by combining actual historical facts with divergent sentiments toward Imperial Japan and Korean nationalism. It is important to analyse these films because they can demonstrate the manner in which the tension between Japan and Korea is still present in cultural products. When analysing the selected films, one obtains knowledge on the representations of the nation’s memories. As Barry Schwartz (2005) explains, Many things written about the war have provoked recriminations, regret and repentance, ambivalence, and indifference, but they are important for what they tell us about practical affairs among nations and about what we need to know to improve the present body of knowledge on culture and memory (258). So far, the discussion on colonial memories is limited to aspects of modernisation and nationalism (see section 3.1.2). However, this research aims to focus on nationalism with regard to collective memories and the socio-political context of Korea. This allows for a varied perspective on the topic of nationalism, which may reveal and provide a better understanding of the Korean colonial past. Additionally, I argue that there is no ‘pure’ anti-Japanese sentiment in Korea, but a more nuanced version as portrayed in the time-image of the selected films and encouraged by a set of socio-political issues of the region, such as the ongoing dispute over the Dokdo/Takeshima islands. Furthermore, several Korean celebrities were assaulted for wearing T-shirts displaying the naval Japanese flag, and for wearing Japanese T-shirts during Korean Independence Day celebrations (Jhezwafu, May 2012, DKpopNews; Korea Times, 16 August 2015). This triggered a commotion, resulting in public apologies. This uproar does not conclude here. For instance, the recent settlement on the comfort women was an unsatisfactory resolution for the Korean people. These events demonstrate that Japan and Korea are not at peace. Since the Japanese occupation, Korea has dealt with anti-Japanese sentiment through the medium of film.