Local Stories Tap into Global Frustrations

In 2016, an indie animation director made a move to Korea’s mainstream live-action realm, and the story he boldly chose to do so with belonged to a genre that had until then been considered anathema to the local industry - the zombie film.

That director was Yeon Sangho, and the film was Train to Busan, which swept across the world stage following a rapturous reception in the midnight program of the Cannes Film Festival. During the summer of 2016, the film set box office records at home and summited new commercial heights for a Korean film in theatrical markets around the world.

The film’s simple concept - zombies on a train - was immediate and easy to grasp. Beyond its inherent potential for tense, claustrophobic and novel thrills within a cinematic world that most viewers were already well-versed in, this set-up also made room for the element that would set Yeon’s film apart - timely social commentary.

Two years after the much-publicized governmental mishandling of the Sewol Ferry crisis, Train to Busan proved to be an affective allegory for shoddy disaster management. It also exhibited a disdain of cronyism and explored human nature at its more craven. It did so in a story about ordinary citizens from different walks of life who find themselves stranded by their government and soon at odds with themselves.

The emergency response angle may have initially been designed as a local element, but the social allegory around it was broad and heard, loud and clear, around the world. Global viewers, disenchanted with their own corrupt governments and frustrated by growing social chasms fueled by hypercapitalism, flocked to and delighted in this new and exciting Korean spectacle, which they felt spoke to them.

Train to Busan (2016) 

Rather than a one-off, Train to Busan would become a starting point and a catalyst for a growing wave of Korean content that has continued to inundate both the film and TV drama sectors over the past six years. These days, millions of viewers will eagerly tune in whenever the curtain lifts on the latest Korean-style dystopia.

Sociohistorical awareness has been an essential component of Korean cinema in its modern era. All stories are in some way tied to the time and place from which they sprang, but after emerging from decades of traumatic national events, a new wave of film directors emerged and revolutionized the film industry. These filmmakers had experienced the political tribulations of the 1970s and 1980s but compared to their predecessors they were cine-literate, they had the freedom to tell new kinds of stories, and they had the financial backing of Korea’s new generation of corporate tycoons.

Going to the cinema is often described as a form of escapism, a way to briefly step out of our own lives and vicariously experience the thrills, love and adventures of the heroes we see on screen. If we look at history’s biggest box office success around the world, it’s hard to argue with that notion.

Global cinema’s all-time hits are fueled by romance (Gone with the Wind, Titanic), fantasy (Star Wars, Avatar) and adventure (Avengers). But look at the same box office charts for Korea, and we see a very different picture start to form. Historical and political sagas dominate the chart, from the exploits of Admiral Yi Sunshin (Roaring Currents, 2014), to the tale of brothers separated by the Korean War (TaeGukGi: Brotherhoods of War, 2004) and a drive down to the Gwangju Massacre (A Taxi Driver, 2017). 

The Host (2006) 

What you will also find on the charts are dystopian narratives laced with biting social commentary, such as the aforementioned Train to Busan and Bong Joonho’s smash hit creature feature The Host (2006), which reigned as Korea’s most popular film for eight years.

A furious mix of genre codes stitched together by Bong’s perspicuous humor and unerring sense of purpose, The Host used a B-movie template to expound on a range of social realities and political themes unique to Korea. The infectious blend was a staggering success at home and helped to cement Bong’s name internationally. 13 years later, Bong outdid himself with another social allegory that entranced viewers around the world. After scooping up the Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival, Parasite (2019) became a global smash and earned itself four Academy Awards.

Global success has attracted more financing to the Korean contents industry, which combined with increased technical know-how, has given Korean filmmakers the opportunity to bring even more ambitious visions to the screen. 

Korea’s local social and historical parables have morphed into high-concept dystopias able to attract global audiences. Accelerating this trend, while the exhibition sector was forced into its COVID downturn, has been the rise of global streaming services. Seduced by the promise of platforms connected with millions of viewers around the world, Korean film directors have joined hands with the likes of Netflix and ushered in a new era of Korean content.

This era began when Korean zombies migrated to the small screen in the period horror drama Kingdom, directed by Kim Seonghun (Tunnel, 2016) and penned by K-drama writer Kim Eunhee (Signal). Starting late last year and led by the zeitgeist-grabbing Squid Game, Netflix has released a series of glossy dystopian shows that have been dominating the global cultural conversation.

From Silenced (2010) director Hwang Donghyuk, Squid Game used the popular death game format to satirize income inequality in a story that saw cash-strapped Korean citizens forced to play to the death for the amusement of a debauched group of high society high-rollers.

Watched by hundreds of millions of people around the world, Hwang’s story tapped into a global feeling of existing in a broken system, where the majority are forced to witness the rich grow ever richer while not being able to escape their own precarious economic realities.

Yeon Sangho returned with another unique dystopia when he adapted his webtoon Hellbound for the streamer. Touching on religion and paranoia, the show offered many parallels with issues regarding false news, idolatry and conspiracy theories that have grown more prominent in recent years and accelerated during the pandemic.

This year, Korean zombies have once again claimed global fans through director Lee Jaekyoo’s webtoon adaptation All of Us Are Dead, which spoke to the frustrations felt by teenagers around the world, who feel misunderstood and robbed of a chance to make it in a world that has already left them behind.

With dozens of high-concept sci-fi, horror, action and disaster films waiting for the pandemic to cool down before launching in cinemas, not to mention many more major steaming series on the horizon, Korean dystopias appear set to transfix viewers around the world for some time to come.