So in my experience that makes both seasons of squid games, parasite and the horror movie ‘the host’ (also another Korean movie but I can’t recall the name of it)
Wait, how does the first season of Squid Game present the DPRK negatively? There’s this one refugee from the north who cannot find her footing in the south. And at some point, she is outright asked whether it was better in the north, to which she does not respond, which, in light of the National Security Law, speaks volumes.
As far as I know, it’s literally the most you can legally do to praise the DPRK in occupied-Korea.
This is important, because Sae-byeok being silent when she is asked if North Korea “is better” than here is literally borderline treason in south korea (they did however include the pneumonia? outbreak wiping out parts of her village which made NK sound medieval lol)
Ya I don’t remember where I read it, some list of North Korea myths or something, and it said that the myth that they can’t get any outside media in the DPRK is false. Of course it’s probably heavily censored, but it’s not like they’re in a complete bubble. The example they used was that apparently they enjoy Squid Game in the north, probably because it shows the negative sides of capitalism lol. But like I said, don’t remember my source so consist this just a random anecdote I heard.
no.
why are you making generalizations about the entire media landscape of another culture after you watched 3 properties that are wildly popular in the western world? you know south korea probably churns out like 30 k-dramas / 100 movies every year?
I’m pretty sure it’s outright illegal to show the DPRK in a positive light in the republic of Samsung
It’s called the national security act. You’re not allowed to say anything pro-communist, and of course they’ve used that as a premise to crack down on less radical worker organizing too. The main character in Squid Game explicitly has a PTSD flashback to one such crack down, which is implied to be directly why his life sucks because he and others involved in that unionization movement all got blacklisted by South Korea’s ruling corporations.
I don’t think I’ve seen DPRK mentioned in a positive light in a film or TV series, wherever it’s made.
I recently watched Designated Survivor: 60 Days which I felt was decent on this topic. Spoilers for the first couple of episodes:
spoiler
The current president was working on a peace treaty with North Korea, but the National Assembly gets bombed along with most of the government. Our protagonist is the remaining designated survivor and becomes the acting president, and the first couple of episodes tackle him and the remaining survivors of the previous president’s staff trying to prevent the psychos in the military from starting a war - especially since during a state of war, control goes over to the Americans, which I wasn’t expecting the show to actually bring up.
The American commander even shows up demanding South Korea goes over to a more severe DEFCON level (and thus hand over control to the country), and rather un-diplomatically, openly declares “Your actions are in direct defiance of the will of Washington!” once they refuse.
The North Koreans initially refuse to communicate via the hotline between the two governments, which of course the military psychos use to support their intention for war, but it’s pointed out that it’s really the US and Japan (which sent a ship into Korean territorial waters) that are escalating tensions - why should North Korea be the one to de-escalate (and, given what was pointed out earlier, how can they even trust negotiations if it’s possible the Americans are actually in charge)?
But this was 2019, during the Moon Jae-In presidency and the attempts at reconciliation then, so maybe this was just reflective of the political climate at the time.
The Handmaiden and Queen Woo don’t, though being set in earlier times does make it a lot harder.
Special Delivery treats the North as somewhere to escape from but isn’t harsh on citizens. Pyramid Game is critical of South Korean society and I don’t remember the North being mentioned at all. Not sure that it comes up in Barking Dogs Never Bite or Memories of Murder either. Escape From Mogadishu deals with North Korea quite extensively and is kind of even-handed.
The stuff I had in mind isn’t even necessarily plot points (like it was in squid games with two characters being from the DPRK), but sometimes just a negative mention of them.
A Taxi Driver is focused on criticising the authoritarian government of the South in the 1980s. It has the media blaming the uprising on the North, though the film has already shown that to be untrue.
Certainly there’s going to be antipathy in some things. The Spy Gone North deals with that head on. But there are plenty of examples where it just doesn’t come up at all. It’s not like the prerequisite nudity in every single French film.
watch “crash landing on you”
I found a YouTube link in your comment. Here are links to the same video on alternative frontends that protect your privacy:
I don’t think I’ve ever seen and South Korean movie do that.
It’s been a long time since I’ve seen Yhe Host but where do they even acknowledge the north on Parasite?
In a scene where the family are sat in front of a TV (in the rich family’s home) it comes up. It’s not overbearing, but they bring up mention of the North.
I’ve noticed this
