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How Popular Film Shapes
the Image of Poverty in South Korea
Yongmie Nicola Jo
DPhil Candidate in Social Policy
University of Oxford
South Korean Context
• Rapid economic development since the Korean
War ended in 1953, currently ranking 14th/ 190
countries by GDP (nominal) (World Bank 2010)
• Capitalistic Market Economy
• Democratic Republic
: Semi-presidential representative system
• Individualistic culture is coming to replace
traditional Confucianistic social value system
Changing Meaning of Poverty
In the past, in a more feudalistic and Confucianistic Korea,
Immorality = Losing Face, as a family member
Now, social respect and pride comes with economic wealth
Poverty = Losing Face, as an individual
Film’s Shaping of Poverty
Everything is lost in poverty
Focus on an individual’s life story
‘All or Nothing’
Money does not promise happiness, but without it,
the person’s loses everything is violated by external
powers in every aspect of ones life
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Living in a poor housing & living conditions
Facing Health problems & mounting costs
Alcohol and drug abuse
Relationship breakdowns (social exclusion from any relationship)
Violence and crime; physical insecurity
Helpless in the face of unfair and humiliating treatments of
others; looked down upon, despised
Individualistic explanations for
why one is in Poverty
• Being born into an impoverished family (low-educated parents
or no parents at all)
• Neighbourhood environment: Affiliation with gangster crime
and violence (e.g. low-rank gangster, pick-pockets)
• Incapable to find a better-paying job, and being in stereotypical
jobs of earning low income (e.g. retired boxer, artist, musician,
service sector work)
• Naively followed childhood dreams
• Unemployment, business failure due to large economic
downturn (IMF)
Poverty is a matter of self-pride
Bearing scars upon strong pride → Fighting for pride
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Weak, reckless and helpless (e.g. physically challenged, illness)
Too naive and too good in heart to survive in competitive setting
Aggressive or violent
Incapable of managing economic of the household
Unable to protect ones children from physical harms
How one should escape poverty
: Hard work of the individual
ex) ‘The Game’ 2008
Realizing ones aspiration comes to mean nothing if it does not
accompany economic success, which brings social respect and
living security. In turn, aspiration becomes practicality
“Glove is the only means for a fair fight.
Boxing is neither difficult nor easy.
Only the hard-working one can win victory.”
‘I might be the world champion.’
Shaming of Poverty in Film
• Focus on the individual’s capacity in bringing economic
success and failure
= Placing emphasis on individual’s responsibility to earn
back pride through finding ones way out of the situation
= Blaming the people for falling into poverty
• Attaching social values to wealth, as if it is the ultimate and
the only means to restore ones pride and living as a whole
Poverty and any signifiers of poverty are automatically
associated with loss of pride & shame
Summary
★ Focus on each individuals’ life stories
– Individual’s capacity and effort coming across as the
only means of escaping poverty
– Loss of pride (self-esteem), and everything else that
is dear to oneself (e.g. family ties, friendship,
aspirations, social respect)
★ Pursuit of the individuals is earning back their pride
– To fight and win over an unavoidable battle to gain
back the lost face in the hopes of restoring ones life as
a whole
About the Research
• Film analysis as a case study for understanding the
cultural perception of poverty within South Korea
• Sampling : South Korean popular films that
- Featured poverty to a significant degree
- Most widely watched films at the cinema
- Produced between 1970s – 2000s
35 Films / 1600 film synopses
Today : 10 Contemporary Films (2001 – 2010)