The Importance of Film Within Korean Society (Part 3)

Probably one of the most interesting films to come from Korea is from the North. It is well known that Kim Jong-Il is a huge movie fanatic. Kim Jong-Il is the son of Kim Il-Sung previous leader of the North, whom he succeeded in 1994 when he died. He assumed the titles of "Chairman of the National Defence Commission of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea," "Supreme Commander of the Korean People's Army," and "General Secretary of the Workers' Party of Korea." Unfortunately, North Korea isn’t really known for its films, so in 1978, Kim Jong-Il arranged the kidnapping of South Korean director Shin San-Ok and his ex-wife, Choi Eun-Hie, who was a leading actress at the time. The two were forced to live under house arrest and produce several movies for Kim Jong-Il, the last movie and most interesting to look at in detail was Pulgasari (Shin 1985). Pulgasari has been likened to Godzilla (1984) in the monster movie genre, and did in fact have the same special effects team, but unlike other monster movies, this one was a strict metaphor and carried anti-capitalism and pro-communist messages to the audience.

Between 1983 and 1986, Shin Sang-Ok made seven feature films in North Korea and produced thirteen more.

Pulgasari is set in the Koryo Dynasty (918 to 1391 AD) and is about the struggle of the rural farming community and the oppressive governor of the region. It follows the story of Ami, the blacksmith’s daughter, whose community is threatened by the governor demanding all iron from the village is to be made into weapons. This left the farmers without tools, so the people were at risk from starvation. In protest, Ami’s father hid all the iron he was asked to make into weapons and was imprisoned without food as punishment. His excuse for the iron disappearing was that the mythical beast, Pulgasari, had come in the night an eaten it all. Unfortunately, the governor didn’t believe in this fairy tale. Whilst in prison, Ami and her younger brother Ana throw food in to their father, but instead of eating it he moulds the rice into a small model of Pulgasari, and his last dying wish is that it will somehow bring the village salvation. When the blacksmith dies, the small model ends up with Ami, who accidentally pricks her finger whilst sewing and her blood lands on it, bringing Pulgasari to life.

Pulgasari then goes on an iron-eating spree and grows in size very quickly and saves Ami’s betrothed and leader of the resistance, Inde, from beheading by eating the sword. Pulgasari joins the rebels and helps free them from not only the governor, but King as well; however, the realisation then comes that Pulgasari’s hunger cannot be quelled as it continues to eat all the iron. Pulgasari the monster is meant to represent capitalism in that it starts off small and appealing, but once set in motion becomes an unstoppable monster that cannot be satisfied. This is all apparent when the character Ami makes a prediction expressed through her monologue: "When this country's iron is gone, the people will have to take you and invade other countries. Then the whole world would be at war, and humanity will fall" (Chang Son Hui, 1985). The other side to this film is the communist themes such as the villagers all working as one to liberate themselves. You can also see more subtle signs, like the fact all their possessions appear to be shared and the everyday working goals they have are to achieve communal benefits. There are other meanings that some critics have speculated about; for example, there is a scene where you see the villagers in the midst of a famine. In Holland and Hamilton’s review of the film, for eastern film online site Tokyo Stomp, with regards to this famine scene they state, "Shin's attempt at subversive editorialising on the conditions in the country? Or were the viewers supposed to understand that the famine was the fault of hostile foreign forces?" (C, Holland and S, Hamilton 2001).

The Japanese term Kaiju translates to 'Strange Beast.'

It should also be noted that just before the completion of this film, Shin San-Ok and his wife, with some help, escaped to America. Therefore, the movie was completed by director Chong Gon-Jo and his name was put on the film credits instead. According to ADV Films (ADvanced Vision), a part of A. D. Vision home video publications company, who released the film in the west, Pulgasari had been banned for a decade. In the 1990s, North Korea pushed to market it abroad, but because of its political undertones, there was no interest. Much later in 1998, it saw a small success in Japan and then in early 2000, it was released in South Korea to further the growing relationship between the two sides. When the film finally came out, Shin San-Ok tried to sue in order to get his name put back on the film. When he failed, he instead changed his name to Simon Sheen and wrote the story for the western version of Pulgasari (1985) called Galgameth (1996). The film, Galgameth (1996) was directed by Sean McNamara and told the story of a young prince who saves his kingdom using the help of the royal families mascot, a small dragon that eats metal to grow larger. As with Pulgasari, his western brother Galgameth starts off very small like a toy, and by the end has grown into a huge creature. There is also a large difference in the political messages; however, instead of the beast aiding the community against a repressive power, he assists a prince in holding his reign on his kingdom.