“Non-Fiction Diary” is Jung Yoon-suk’s second documentary and had numerous appearances at several film festivals. Moreover, the documentary won several Awards, namely the Netpac (Network for the Promotion of Asian Cinema) Award at the 64th Berlin International Film Festival and the Mecenat Award at the 18th Busan International Film Festival. Buy This Title The main axis and backbone of Jung Yoon-suk’s “Non-Fiction Diary” is an event that occurred in 1994 and shocked the Korean nation. This event is the surface and capture of the Jijon Clan, which consisted of six serial killers who kidnapped, raped, ate and burned five people and even forced one of the women hostages to participate in the killing of her boyfriend. After Jijon Clan’s arrest, …show more content…
These events are the collapse of the Seongsu Bridge in 1994 and the collapse of the Sampoong department store in 1995. What the two collapses and the Jijon Clan case have in common are the intentions of the people involved. Both the executives involved in the creation of the bridge and the department store and the members of the gang wanted to earn more money (the gang in order to give them to their leader). The executives wanted to have profits as fast as possible, and this cost human lives. This cost leads us to the second common fact, which is no other than the murdering of people. In the case of the two collapses, the unintentional loss of life due to the bali bali Korean culture (to do something as quickly as possible) and in the case of the Jijon clan, is the intentional removal of human life. Both are murders, even though the scale is different. Moreover, and additional message is included: capitalism, directly and indirectly, leads to the death of
Blaine Harden, former national correspondent and writer for the New York Times, delivers an agonizing and heartbreaking story of one man’s extremely conflicted life in a labor camp and an endeavor of escaping this place he grew up in. This man’s name is Shin Dong-hyuk. Together, Blaine Harden and Shin Dong-hyuk tell us the story of this man’s imprisonment and escape into South Korea and eventually, the United States, from North Korea. This biography that takes place from 1982-2011, reports to its readers on what is really going on in “one of the world’s darkest nations” (back cover of the book), that is run under a communist state and totalitarian dictatorship that was lead by Kim Il-sung, Kim Jong-il, and currently lead by Kim-Jong un. In Escape from Camp 14, Shin shows us the adaptation of his life and how one man can truly evolve from an animal, into a real human being.
Shin Dong-Hyuk was born a prisoner in Camp 14, a long established North Korean labor camp. The author, a writer who has set up a series of interviews with Shin to reveal his life story and his incredible status as the only person born in a North Korean labor camp to escape. He grew up learning to snitch on his friends and family would earn him food in an environment where almost everyone was always starving. His parents were chosen because of their “good behavior” in the camp to get married and have children; they could only see each other five days per year. Common camp activities included: executions for those who tried to escape, beatings for anyone caught stealing food or misbehaving, and prisoners disappearing if they tried to speak out against the leaders of the camp. Shin learned quickly to keep his head down, food being his only motivation, if he was going to survive this living hell.
Written by Margaret K. Pai, the Dreams of Two Yi-min narrates the story of her Korean American family with the main focus on the life journeys of her father and mother, Do In Kwon and Hee Kyung Lee. Much like the majority of the pre-World War II immigrants, the author’s family is marked and characterized by the common perception of the “typical” Asian immigrant status in the early 20th century: low class, lack of English speaking ability, lack of transferable education and skills, and lack of knowledge on the host society’s mainstream networks and institutions (Zhou and Gatewood 120, Zhou 224). Despite living in a foreign land with countless barriers and lack of capital, Kwon lead his wife and children to assimilate culturally, economically, and structurally through his growing entrepreneurship. Lee, on the other hand, devoted herself not only to her husband’s business but also to the Korean American society. By investing her time in the Korean Methodist Church and the efforts of its associated societies, such as the Methodist Ladies Aid Society and the Youngnam Puin Hoe, Lee made a worthy contribution to the emergence and existence of Hawaii’s Korean American community.
The constant changing of technology and social norms makes difficult for different generations to understand one another and fully relate to each other. Diction and slang change as years pass and what is socially acceptable may have been prohibited in the previous generations.
In the film “Camp 14: Total Control Zone”, directed by German filmmaker Marc Wiese, consists of narration and animation by North Korean native Shin Dong-hyuk, who was born and grew up in the Kaechon internment camp (known as "Camp 14") in North Korea. Dong-hyuk is clearly traumatized from his time in the camp, as he was born in a place where individual rights were unheard of. The rules of this torture camp consisted of bogus policies such as restricting any and all forms of contact between men and women outside of work and forced reaction that demonstrate “the deepest remorse” for honest mistakes made by inmates (0:19). The most restrictive policy stated that anyone who attempts to escape or helps anyone escape will be shot, thus many family members and “friends” ratted each other out, often with no true reason, out of fear of being reprimanded for knowing about attempted escape plans. Not only were inmates living in a constant state of fear, but the levels of sexual abuse and misconduct in camps is unimaginable, as a women and even children were often violated in front of the eyes of their fathers and brothers, yet any resistance would result in the death of the assaulted and any witnesses (0:25). Methods of torture include acts
1984 demonstrates a dystopian society in Oceania by presenting a relentless dictator, Big Brother, who uses his power to control the minds of his people and to ensure that his power never exhausts. Aspects of 1984 are evidently established in components of society in North Korea. With both of these society’s under a dictator’s rule, there are many similarities that are distinguished between the two. Orwell’s 1984 becomes parallel to the world of dystopia in North Korea by illustrating a nation that remains isolated under an almighty ruler.
By any measure, The Memoirs of Lady Hyegyong, known as Hanjungnok (Records written in silence), is a remarkable piece of Korean literature and an invaluable historical document, in which a Korean woman narrated an event that can be described as the ultimate male power rivalry surrounding a father-son conflict that culminates in her husband’s death. However, the Memoirs were much more than a political and historical murder mystery; writing this memoir was her way of seeking forgiveness. As Haboush pointed out in her informative Introduction, Lady Hyegyong experienced a conflict herself between the demands imposed by the roles that came with her marriage, each of which included both public and private aspects. We see that Lady Hyegyong justified her decision to live as choosing the most public of her duties, and she decided that for her and other members of her family must to be judged fairly, which required an accurate understanding of the her husband’s death. It was also important to understand that Lady Hyegyong had to endure the
The Holocaust was a time of sadness for many people. However, one story that took place during the Holocaust was truly inspiring and impacted the lives of many people around the world. This was the story of Anne Frank and her family. Anne Frank was one of over one million Jews who died in the Holocaust (Anne Frank 1). In September 1939, when World War II began, more than one and a half million Jews lived in countries occupied, or soon to be occupied by Hitler (Lee 1). Because of this many families were forced into concentration camps due to Hitler during this time. However, Anne’s family decided to try and avoid the brutal camps by going into hiding in the secret annex. Anne Frank and her family are famously known for Anne’s diary that was found by Miep Gies in the secret annex (Anne Frank 1). Not long after the diary was found, Anne’s story was known all around the world. Anne Frank impacted the lives of many by showing people an insight of what life was really like for Jews under Hitler’s control and being someone who people can look up to. Therefore, Anne Frank impacted the lives of many people around the world and has become a “famous symbol for the lost promise of the children who died in the Holocaust” (Anne Frank 1).
The Kwangju Massacre, also widely known as the Kwangju Democratic Uprising to those who support the movement played a significant role in the course of democratization of South Korea. This research paper focuses on why the Kwangju Uprising occurred and the role of the United States. Many South Koreans felt that the United States supported President Chun’s military government and outlook the injustice that was taking place in Kwangju. The Kwagju Massacre ended with the army seizing the Province hall once again on May 27th 1980. Even with the defeat, the Kwangju Uprising gave aspiration to the citizen that they are able to bring change in the government policies.
Hwang Sun-won went through many hard times during his life (Albert). When he was young Korea was ruled by Japan. During this time Hwang saw the Japanese imprison his father for being part of the Korean rebellion of 1919. (Albert 1402) Another reason is when he would write one of his many pieces of ...
In the play, The Diary of Anne Frank, the main character Anne was a dynamic character, changing from being self-centered and naive in the beginning, to being caring towards the end of the story. Anne interacting with the other characters and developing the theme of the play showed proof of these traits of her personality, emotions, intellect, and ethics. First, Anne shows her initial trait of being self-centered, partially because of her naiveness. One example of this is when she has a nightmare, then when her mother comes to comfort her. Mrs. Frank says, “But I’d like to stay with you… very much. Really.”, then Anne responds by saying “I’d rather you didn’t”. Anne deeply hurt her mother by making her feel unwanted and useless, showing that
Americans and Japanese are both fond of pointing out the difference in crime rates. To many Japanese, America is seen as an outlaw nation, bristling with guns. And for many Americans, the juxtaposition of Japan's often ultra-violent entertainment with their low crime rate is fascinating. Japanese pop culture and crime statistics are often cited to defend American entertainment when it is accused of inspiring violence. But for anyone paying attention, startling crimes have a way of popping up in Japan unexpectedly. There were the "Otaku Murders" of 1988 and 1989, where Tsutomo Miyazaki kidnapped and killed four girls of around five years of age, reenacting gruesome scenes from his hentai collection. The serin gas attack in 1995 is another notable incident in the analogs of Japanese crime history. Perpetrated by the Aum Shinrikyo cult, almost a dozen people were killed during the terrorist attack.
"Fuck you, Yoongi!," Jimin shouts, raising his voice, swearing for the first time in ages. "You can't keep doing this!"
This raises a question about the viability of art cinema, independent feature films, short films, independent documentary, and other less profitable and commercial modes of filmmaking in South Korea. It may even lead some people to believe that those other modes of filmmaking are not an integral part of the new South Korean cinema success story. Yet, my third and final point will be to argue against this and for the importance of what I want to tentatively call “full service cinema,” including a full range of modes of production and consumption. In making this point, I want to challenge another very common assumption not only in South Korea but everywhere—the idea that art cinema and independent cinema are opposed to mainstream commercial cinema. While there may be an aesthetic opposition between them, it is a strategic mistake to translate this into an institutional opposition.
Many Koreans authors lived during this bleak period in history, which influenced them in their writing. Park Kyong-ni, one of the most famous novelists in Korean history, was born on October 28, 1926 in Tongyong, South Korea. Park lost her husband during the Korean War and her son passed away before her. Her work emphasized the importance human dignity (english-ohmynews.com). She was awarded the Woltan Literature Work for her work The Land. Park Kyong-ni died on May 5, 2008 while completing another novel. Yun Dong-ju, a renowned po...