unterwegsimkoreanischenD

A bit weird and edgy, yet refreshingly and unashamedly honest about what love life also is like

"LTNS" (Long Time No Sex) starts off where other series usually end. TVING doesn't care about age ratings. “LTNS” is unusually explicit for a KDrama. At the same time, “LTNS” presents itself as a pitch-black comedy with venomously satirical overtones. Be prepared for an edgy series that is refreshingly and unashamedly honest about what love life also is like...

If desire in a relationship has been turned off over time by habit and everyday worries while instead alienation and disinterest are creeping in... what should you do? The protagonists unexpectedly find an almost absurd option to bring some excitement and “we”-time back into their relationship. With detective zeal, they set out to blackmail those in whom the fire of (actually forbidden) desire still burns happily... and in doing so, they thus try to create a (almost criminal) virtue out of their own need, so to speak.

"LTNS" has fun with scenes that convey uninhibited sexuality one moment, but are completely unerotically thwarted the next. It is somehow down to earth in a most peculiar way. Bedroom stories are being told here that we haven´t been waiting for. All of a sudden such a certain mood for certain hours is eventually collapsing like a house of cards due to a mishap or unexpected incident... A "Bravo!" in this context to the actors, too!

“LTNS” promises a special kind of bizarre, weird series delight with plenty of potshots at the mendacity concerning certain facades of a solid and sincere love life and family life that are usually and preferably presented to the outside world.

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Two outsiders. One equation: trust + time = transformation.

Some films shout. Others whisper — yet linger in your mind long after the credits roll. In Our Prime belongs to the latter.

An older man hides his brilliance behind a janitor's uniform. A young student, adrift among numbers and expectations. Two people, like distant islands — until they start to truly hear each other. What follows isn’t a grand gesture or dramatic spectacle. It’s something far rarer: a genuine connection.

Mathematics here is more than curriculum. It’s a space for thought, a shared language, even a kind of comfort. The film doesn’t promise glittering careers or textbook triumphs. Instead, it shows what can unfold when someone believes in you — not to solve the problem for you, but to walk the path with you.

There’s no melodrama, no inflated conflict. Just quiet gazes, thoughtful words, and a camera that respects its characters enough to let them breathe. In Our Prime finds dignity in the act of thinking and tenderness - in the simple gesture of someone offering a pencil, not to provide answers, but to begin the search.

With quiet sensitivity, "In Our Prime" tells a story of marginalization and a sense of belonging, of the silent power of recognition — how subtle forms of acceptance can reshape a life.

Gentle and empathetic. Uplifting and sincere.

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Father + daughter challenged in the face of presenile Alzheimer

Cassiopeia has already won the Korean Association of Film Critics Awards 2022.
I would recommend it, too.

The KMovie Cassiopeia tackles an unpleasent subject: presenile Alzheimer's dementia. In an increasingly aging society, dementia will become more and more present and more common within the personal environment of all of us. Most cases occur at ages 65+. However, a small percentage is also affected at a younger age. This can even occur very early due to hereditary factors - as documented sensitively and unforgettable in the KMovie "A Moment to Remember". But this can also have many other causes. Dementia is a shocking diagnosis at any age, because with your eyes wide open, your own life inevitably slips away... faster than you imagine, you will no longer be able to recognize your own children, partners, friends or parents, while also the bodily functions will do their own thing.

"Cassiopeia" is about a woman in her 40s who is overwhelmed by presenile Alzheimer's dementia. However, the narration is slightly different than in "A Moment to Remember". "A Moment to Remember" captures the strong emotionality of the mental degeneration process practically from within - in touching scenes and sensitive relationship dynamics and tells the story of how memories in her head are erased as a painful loss for everyone involved. In "Cassiopeia", on the other hand, the audience follows the accumulating social moments in a comparatively objective manner, in which the exponentially progressing decay of the nerve cells is expressed - simply stating, so to speak. (Just as the protagonist initially presents herself as an objective, sober and rather sever person.) Emotionality is not dramaturgically staged in this KMovie, but results from the sum of soberly observed situations of individual loss of control and Su-jin's familiar world broken in two - one in which clarity still reigns and one in which everyone, even she herself is a stranger. From the emotionality thus involved - fear of failure, helplessness, shame, being at the mercy of others and much more - one cannot withdraw oneself. Rather, this emotionality develops an increasingly peculiar driving force (just as the protagonist's psychological/physical development process picks up speed). Eventually, the KMovie goes straight to the heart and makes people think.

In "A Moment to Remember" the focus was on the relationship dynamics with the beloved husband, here it is the portrait between daughter and father. In this case, the father tries to do better in old age what he could not do when he was younger, as he was not around.

In "A Moment to Remember" the protagonist is still at the very beginning of her young, promising life. In "Cassiopeia" Su-jin has achieved quite a lot: she is a mother, a successful lawyer, and also divorced. The daughter is about to move to her father in the USA. Significantly, the life of the protagonist, as it was up to now, ends in several respects with the departure of her daughter. It becomes difficult even for the star constellation Cassiopeia to give life perspective and orientation...

(By the way: the KMovie builds on a nice analogy between Cassiopeia and family. Both the star constellation pointing to the North Star and one's own family cannot help you, finding your path and your own way with life. Yet, we can rely on them if we got lost along the way: as some place to look out for/reach out for, regarding perspective/support).

Emotive. Especially by those often deliberatly soberly, calmly captured situations in which both the orderly and deformed worlds meet and finally merge. The helplessness and coldness of the social environment enfolds in all its unvarnished harshness - by its objective narrative style and camera perspective it is subtly thrown back at us. We are emotionally drawn into what is happening in two respects: regarding our empathy with Su-jin, which we cannot escape in the progress of the story, as well as regarding our identification with people/strangers Su-jin meets along the way - because that is what we are, too. How do WE actually deal with people who have obviously lost control of their lives or are about to lose it? Can WE stand this? Can WE lend a helping hand with this? Be of support? Even (or especially) if it's just a casual encounter on the street, an acquaintance in the neighborhood, or a colleague at work?

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RomCom, crime, historical drama, fantasy & Makjang make the dough for something standalone new

"Durian's Affair" is set among the wealthy - ´here´ (2023) and likewise ´there´ (long gone Joseon days). The time may have changed for Du Ri-an and her daughter-in-law, but the place has not. They are instantly catapulted from their Joseon days to recent today. Some of the wealthy family, who own the property today, have apparently reincarnated again in this family. They are especially well known to Du Ri-an. Now those involuntary time travelling ladies have to deal with the culture shock and the traumatic leap in time that actually seems as incredible as a dream, whereas in their own days they were actually in the midst of grieving over the loss of their beloved son/husband...

This bizarre, four-dimensional dramaturgical setting is providing a load of finely knitted entanglements and arising questions, yet unanswered. What had really happened back then? What's going on today in this family? Why the time jump? So what's next for the two Joseon-day ladies? How is everyone going to deal with this weird practical (and for some even emotional confusing) situation?

This production is full of zeitgeist of the 2020s, in which Anglicisms and Banmal (informal speech) are a matter of course, while in mass consciousness the curtain between different times and spaces has become extremely permeable. Yet, the icing on the cake: relationship dynamics in the fourth dimension. The people of that long gone time are not those of today. And yet... There are notions of their life back then, even if they cannot consciously remember it, as well as the option of making new decisions in their life today. Broken hearts, cupid's arrow, greed and passion, as well as a sense of responsibility or noblesse oblige... it's all mixed up through the perspective of the time-travelling ladies of days gone by. Situation comedy breaks through encrusted structures. The strangely insane is tossing and turning the minds of reincarnates and time travellers alike. Likewise, the strangely familiar is, too.

"Durian's Affair" is one of those KDramas that wants to break with established genres. The South Korean, but also the international market is currently being flooded with excessive KDrama productions. Thus there is increasingly space opening up for experiments... and that's what “Durian´s Affair” is, too. This KDrama is no RomCom, no crime thriller, no historical drama, no fantasy and also no classical Makjang. However, elements of each are richly included. Together they create something independently new. Anyone who is open to such an experiment should sit back, relax, shake off the usual expectations and get involved with the KDrama. It's entertaining. With some open questions that keep the suspension throughout all 16 episodes. There are also love interests. (Yes, plural.) All multi-layeredly entangled across time and space. Additionally, “Durian´s Affair” is even exuding a pleasant scent of humanness.

Be prepared for deliberate Sostenuto! The pacing is characteristic, since the production sticks consistently with the two outdated ladies from Joseon days. And in my opinion, those ladies are the ones who make the show as remarkable as it is. Regarding Du Ri-an and her daughter-in-law, all characters in the show as well as the audience alike can work themselves off. Nice!








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SIDENOTE: --- A reckoning with the lost virtues of a conservative South Korean society ---


“Wheresoever you go, go with all your heart.” -Confucius

In my opinion, "Durian's Affair" is kind of a reckoning with pseudo-virtues of a conservative South Korean society. Du Ri-an and her daughter-in-law are catapulted into Seoul 2023 and show the elite clan around the Dan family what true Confucian virtue actually means. At the same time, they are caricatures as those virtues come along as an almost unattainable ideal. The two ladies from back then embody i.e. propriety, righteousness, integrity, benevolence, wisdom and trustworthiness in such an uncompromisingly consistent way that one cannot help but be amazed. Confucian virtues are inextricably linked to patriarchy. But the lesson in this idealistic self-image of a dignified, respectful life is given to us by two women! Adaptably creative, intuitive, respectful and well grounded. Timelessly human, righteous, wise and trustworthy.

Du Ri-an and her daughter-in-law embody the Confucian virtues, but more than that, they have transcended them without realizing it and found an answer for what these (and every other virtue, too,) are actually intended for: A source of self-confidence as a human being and dignity, from which a person can draw strength and grounding - even in the most adverse situations! In general, this as a prerequisite for any human, compassionate, authentic encounters. Those virtues had to be (necessarily, involuntarily) adapted by those ladies into a completely foreign century. (And they prove themselves again and again in every one of the three different households of the Dan family.) So it is actually about the core essence of any virtue: providing a human being with dignity and inner values as a compass – reaching out with the power of respect and thus transcending boundaries of specified classes, too.

The two time travelers come across as idealized caricatures of the bygone Joseon period, that is generally considered virtuous. As foreign ladies in Seoul 2023, they embody rather unreal, almost exaggerated ideals of virtues that are still upheld and (as it turns out) actually largely lost. And yet, the two ladies prove it: true, authentic dignity can grow from the upright embodiment of these virtues. This dignity matches its dramaturgical equivalent in the overall deliberate Sostenuto pacing of the K-drama.

The timelessness of the old values stands in apparent contrast to the growing western internationalized coolness and the elitist arrogant version of the new nobility, which however seems to have lost any grounding unless it is for money. It is rather obvious: a bit more humanness, morality, integrity, wisdom and trustworthiness would be nice here and there. What is offered above all is a shiny facade cushioned by the bank account. More or less covered underneath you find any human topic irrespective of class or wealth: longing to be loved, self-doubt, jealousy, gender issues, fear of aging, love in old age, temptation...

In "Durian's Affair" the head of the family clan may be a (actually surprisingly liberal) woman. Homosexual love can become a topic here, too. And then there are a few more time-sensitive issues in play. Yet, authenticity and sincerity are primarily triggered by the two noble, upstanding Joseon ladies... They may remind one or the other just by their attitude towards life, that human dignity is deeply rooted inside - even though one may have lost or forgotten about it along the way.

Don’t get me wrong. I'm not standing here for Confucian virtues. And neither does the KDrama. But it holds a nicely presented mirror to South Korean society, which to this day may hide behind the 'old, time-honoured' values. For better or for worse. If so, then it might be crucial to fill these virtues with life. Message: The present is far from that. Fascination? Yes. Attraction? Perhaps. But embodied? No. Two ladies from the past must be landing in 2023. (And actually they had to carry their baggage at home back then - a baggage whose weight was characterized by a questionable virtue (also) of the people of that distant time.)

“Durian´s Affair” rejects any kind of idealization. How nice, indeed! Yet it upholds authenticity (as a new and needed virtue?), basic for any respectful human-to-human encounter. As a value! As the true virtue! And with that - against this background - "Durian's Affair" becomes quite a progressive KDrama production. What a delightful surprise!





PS:
And then, the ending. It is open for all you can imagine. Any direction. You choose, where to go next. Drama just like the human condition (la condition humaine.) Like the wheel of existence, fueled by Karma! It goes on and on... A never ending story of birth and rebirth...

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A merciless play with people's fears. Witch-hunt revisited. Gloomy. Upsetting. Horror with no escape

"The Netflix production "Hellbound" started even more successfully on the global streaming platform in November 2021 than "Squid Game". Dystopias (stories about gloomy visions of the future) these days obviously hit a sore spot in the global mass consciousness - the fear of what still is to come, considering that nothing will be the way it used to be....

Accordingly, "Hellbound" generally plays with people's fears. The characters in the story also play with people's fears - here in the face of a hell on earth that is spreading inexorably, flanked by a modern form of witch hunts and establishing a new order in which there is little room for hope and light. Because even as a reward for a righteous life, only death awaits in the end. At best, you don´t have to be ashamed and getting ridiculed of it.

The focus for the 'not righteous' is a heavenly or better hellish special commando, which arrives from the afterlife in the form of huge hell gorillas and stages a small earthly hellfire from human bones. No less shocking is the moment that meticulously announces the day and hour of this death in advance.

Rarely have there been so many crazy, delusional people in KDrama (here namely in the realm of the sect). The number of truly honest people can be counted on one hand. And in between there is the vast majority of the terrified masses, blinded and tamed by the New Truth Society's threats sold as hope...

The prospects are really daunting. Not just unearthly prophecy and execution of the death sentence for the shameful, despicable sinners. Even more actually what this scenario does to the people. There is the group of the "arrowhead" who, already sort of detached from any aspect humanity. Their members receive the carte blanche from the ordained sect priests to use the brute force and terror in order to carry out a multimedia-fuelled new edition of witch hunts. They are allowed to live out their wildest violent fantasies . And then there are the would-be ´gentlemen´ (and ´ladies´), CEOs and high priests of the New Truth Society, who submit their new 'commandments' to the people, and the VIPs who solemnly attend the celestial court processes live and in the first row...

Eventually, it can´t get any worse than that. "Hellbound" effortlessly catapulted humanity back into the deepest Middle Ages - yet in the midst of the modern, high-tech 21st century. Business with sin is very popular there. From now on it is no longer about the hope of eternal life (in the hereafter), but merely about not to unnecessarily embarrass yourself as a sinner in the face of the inevitable earthly death...

For me, "Hellbound" is highly ambivalent. It's done great again. Ecellent actors. Exciting story. Upsetting, because maybe not so absurd in terms of social dynamics... But do you really want to/do you have to look at it? There's practically nothing positive coming out of it. Even the hopeful spark at the end remains under a hood of fear and horror and somehow doesn't really find its way back to the light... (A 2nd season is in discussion... maybe then? Or just more fear and horror from which there is no escape?)

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A lovingly told, soulful story based on true events. 117 uplifting minutes that´ll bring you joy

"Miracle: Letters to the President" comes across as a wonderful fairy tale. And yet it isn´t. The story arose from harsh reality. "Miracle" is a soulful KMovie about dreams come true, bathed in the bright colours of the four seasons in a remote, idyllic mountain valley. This landscape is a crucial player in its own, thus impressively contributing to the whole plot. Actually, a handkerchief or two might be helpful, even though the KMovie isn´t particularly playing on our heart strings. It's just a touching story, lovingly told.

The setting of this true story: a remote mountain village in the east of the country, that can only be reached via the trass of the railway line. However, it does not have its own train station. For the residents, this means that they have to put up with an arduous walk along the trass in order to get to the next village as quickly as possible. For example, the protagonist spends five hours each day commuting to and from school. And quite a few people have already lost their lives on this dangerous walk over this busy trass through the mountains – including the mother of the protagonist. The boy's dream: a train station for his village. The chances are low, but he does not give up.

It may help that he actually seems to have a special talent for science. Also it may help that in Rah-hee, a bright daughter from an influential family, he finds a school friend and at the same time his muse, always encouraging and inspiring him in her idiosyncratic way. Thus, "Miracle" is also a tender, unusual love story with the charm of the 1980s.

So there are wounds and wonders, as well as wonderfully staged images, yet with a challenging core. All in all, a lovingly told, soulful story based on true events. Nostalgia of the 1980s, picturesque nature and rustic mountain idyll, the slower pace of provincial life and spectacular railway lines through tunnels and over bridges in the steep foothills of the Taebaek Mountains convey "Miracle" its distinctive character. The KMovie is bathed in an all-round positive aura. 117 uplifting minutes that´ll bring you joy.










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SIDE NOTE: --- Yangwon Train Station ---
Socheon-myeon is a mountainous area in North Gyeongsan, in the east of the country.
The Korail Yeongdong Line crosses this area on its way from Yeongju in North Gyeongsang Province via Taebaek Mountain to Gangneung in Gangwon Province. Since 1988, the Yangwon railway station has been the smallest and also the first private railway station in South Korea. Until then, the village was isolated from the rest of the world in the middle of a rugged valley. Even though a railway line had passed the village since 1955, the train had never stopped. There was also no road leading to the village. 3.7 km of railway line separated the villagers from the nearest Seungbu railway station and thus connections to other towns and cities. With ax, shovel, mortar and sweat, the villagers finally built their tiny train station themselves.

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Tragic, epic, visually impressive.

"The Slave Hunters" is a cinematic-style KDrama, almost like a movie for the big screen. (It would definitely be an experience on the big screen.) In any case, "The Slave Hunters" has a lot to offer during ist 24 episodes.

There is strikingly selected staging of the landscape. Korea presents itself self-confident with its countless riverscapes and deltas, its mountains and coastal regions. The viewers visually accompany the protagonists on their long journeys across the country.

The accumulation of well-trained, well-structured torsos of the male actors is also characteristic for "The Slave Hunters". There's a lot of work involved, and it's appropriately staged here in numerous shots. Why not?

In connection with its sporty mimes, "The Slave Hunters" also comes up with a variety of brilliant, sometimes spectacularly choreographed fight scenes. Above all, Jang Hyuk once again sets quite a monument with his versatile martial arts skills.

The KDrama also presents - if you like - some Joseon-style parkour. 'Chase' thus gets a nicely invigorating touch. (Side note, in case you don´t know: Parkour is a special form of athletic movement art - a mostly urban steeplechase that has become fashionable in the last few decades. Individuals choose the most effective way to get to their destination, and that's hardly ever the predetermined path. Rather, the urban or natural landscape is re-perceived with regard to potential obstacles and evaluated as to how these can be creatively overcome on the individually chosen route, for example by jumping, somersaults or the like.)

The KDrama also stresses the subject of fatal love triangle in its complex emotionality. Eventually, there are also more love stories in the side plots. Yet, to be honest, the romance aspect should not be your reason to watch... The complicated dynamics might drive you crazy at times, so does the rigid play of the ex-and-again-general.

After all, the story mixes a good pinch of humor with profound wisdom. Surrounded by all the muscle-packed, fast-paced spectacle, the question of how a just society can be achieved is examined, i. e. whether it can ever be achieved at all. As soon as people gain power, won't they always tend to turn their fellow human beings into slaves, chattel or lackeys? And: will a changed political system change the people? Or do people have to change for the system to change? As a premise it is stressed that slaves are also human beings, e. g. that it actually starts with an attitude, that one should not deny any human being to being a human being - certainly not according to their genetic origin. "Slave Hunters" historically refers to the beginning of socio-critical Yangban movements against practiced slavery.

At the same time, the KDrama shows life under simple/poor living conditions - unembellished in all coarseness, e. g. ugly, blustering, brutal, unkempt and uneducated, but still warm-hearted. On the other hand, the fine silk clothings and the well-groomed, educated demeanor of the nobles and officials cannot hide their emotional coldness and corrupted souls.

All in all: It is not surprising that the KDrama in average thrilled more than 30 percent of the South Korean population and received numerous respectable awards and even international nomination. Above all, Jang Hyuk, for whom his role seems to be tailor-made. He fights, jumps, sprints, barks, laughs, cries, digs into the deepest depths of his soul and on top of that presents profound street smart and wise philosophies.

"The Slave Hunters" has a charm of its own. It´s tragic, epic, visually impressive.




---------------- Side Note: --- historical background ----
The historic frame refers to the time of King Injo in the 17th century as well as his son and Crown Prince Sohyeon. As a result of the submission after the second Manchu invasion in 1636, the Crown Prince (together with his wife and other officials) went to Shenyang practically as a hostage of the Qing. He spent his time there working diplomatically on peaceful relations between the Joseon and Qing dynasties.
His commitment also brought him to Beijing, where he became familiar with Western culture through his acquaintance with Jesuit missionaries. However, his father did not like Sohyeon's diplomatic commitment and open-mindedness at all. He feared that after his return and accession to the throne, he would want to reform Joseon with Catholicism and Western values. Prince Sohyeon's sudden death is interpreted by historians as deliberate poisoning. There is some evidence that his own father was behind this. Sohyeon's wife was executed for treason and only the youngest of his three sons survived their exile on Jejudo.
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Thought provoking. Confronting the arrogance of the ´normal´. Truly outstanding acting performance

"Oasis" was highly celebrated by international film critics in 2002. Director and screenwriter Lee Chang-dong, who had with "Peppermint Candy" in 1999 already contributed a milestone in Korean film art, came up with this unusual love story between a mentally retarded young man and a young woman with infantile cerebral palsy. In doing so, he once again relied on Sol Kyung-gu and Moon So-ri, who had proven themselves as a couple in "Peppermint Candy" and who now once again deliver truly outstanding acting performances in "Oasis". The list of international awards – i.e. in Venice, Vancouver, Bergen, Brisbane, Seattle and Seville - as well as in South Korea, is long. And rightly so.

“Oasis” is pure (independent) KMovie! It impressively embodies a great strength of South Korean movie production: ruthlessness! Even if social life is characterized by facades, coats, make-up and social reputations, modern South Korean cinema has (since the end of dictatorial censorship) proven what 'independence' really means. The freedom to finally show things the way they really are! Not being afraid of what is hurting, what is ugly, what is disgusting! The brutal revelation of the emotional abyss to which the human soul may be exposed over the course of a human life. Situations and moments in life that people tend/wish to quickly forget. The cruelties that people are capable of inflicting on each other. The look behind the facades and underneath the coats, where we are naked and without make-up, alone and vulnerable. But this is where we are sincere and real, too. From there, a new form of beauty and strength can grow. KMovies bring to light even the unloved, unpleasant, repressed, despised, perverted, uninhibited, disturbing human emotions with magnificent intensity, which are often presented so authentically that it hurts (because it's so true). The protagonists have no claim whatsoever to be likeable. This creative courage, when it comes to production and performance, as well as the audience´s willingness to open up to these cinematic works is (in my opinion) almost unique.
“Oasis” offers an impressive expression of this particular artistic attitude. This is a thought provoking KMovie confronting the arrogance of the ´normal´. The plot is about a young woman and a young man who – in the eyes of their social environment - preferably should be socially isolated and actually locked away, as they are supposedly unpresentable. Because of their disability, they are ultimately just a nuisance, causing work and trouble, irritating the 'normal' people with their unpredictable behavior, and actually not contributing anything... Because the families are ashamed of them.

The KMovie bluntly frames that social norms are in fact more important to 'us' than people. "Oasis" encourages to open up a bit and approach the lives of those 'waywards'. And lo and behold! They are sensitive, soulful people like 'us' - with feelings, dreams and longings. They are falling in love. They long for relationships. They are just people, too. Lovable people. Adults with their own lives.

'He' is a physically healthy man in his late 20s, but at the mental level of an 8 year old. He is strong, but easy to manipulate and rather simple-minded. 'She', on the other hand, is physically handicapped due to her severe infantile cerebral palsy to such an extent that she is dependent on help. Due to the impairment of her nervous system, which affects voluntary motor skills, speech disorders, spasms, as well as sensory and motor limitations are occurring, too. Intelligence isn't actually her problem, but that young woman in "Oasis" apparently wasn't given any specific assistance, just basic care. She has her difficulties communicating.

The way the families treat their ´waywards´ is horrendous. In fact, they are both unscrupulously exploited and abused. And both are helpless in their own ways. He doesn't fully grasp the situation. She is physically dependent on helping hands.

The romantic relationship between the two is quite something else. Their start can be considered downright dubious. And yet, as the odd couple they are, they both are happy together. The picture of the oasis on the wall jumps out of its frame and fills the room. In their togetherness, the couple has created an almost magic space where their souls can relate and recharge, where they can be a different person. It is touching, indeed. ´He´ is a responsible man and she is a desirable woman! Yet, this reality is completely alien to their social environment. The families don't have the slightest idea, that this could be even possible: those two ´handicapped losers´ being actually able to genuinely caring for each other and loving each other just the way they are. Not even their closest families honestly tried to truly reach out and attempt to understand their brother/sister.

Bringing the quality of this relationship against all odds authentically to the audience is the unique beauty and strength of “Oasis”. Although 'beauty' is not otherwise something, one would directly associate with this movie. There is hardly any beauty in the world of those two protagonists, where their environment isn´t taking them serious at all. They are either patronized or treated in a disrespectful and disdainful manner. Nevertheless, their feelings for each other radiate beauty and grace. Interaction may inevitably be rather awkward, but still they find their unique way. In the end, it all comes to an almost passionately brilliant finale when HE risks everything in order to by all means keep his promise to HER: sawing off the branches of the tree in front of her window, which only cast shadows on her beloved oasis picture on the wall...

The KMovie leaves us with our thoughts behind. Touched. And - substitutional for those two families, the police, the neighbors etc., who in their arrogance are blind to the inner world of those two lovers – ashamed, too.

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Radiant indeed! Honest. Real. Powerful. Intense. Soulful. As is the life of the Haenyeo.

Remarkable. Exceptional. A Shining Star in KMovieHeaven.
"Everglow" is radiant indeed. Honest. Real. Powerful. Told in few words only, but with wonderful pictures and profound scenes with soulful encounters. Full of love for the island, the Haenyeo, the sea, the landscape, life and love - in whatever form it chooses to show itself.

Go Doo-shim has surpassed herself many times in her long career as an actress and has set an unforgettable monument to many a female archetype. But in this life-affirming chamber piece that breathes pure nature, she surpasses herself a bit more: in the role of one of the comparatively few remaining, unique Haenyeo divers on Yejudo's coasts: Grumpy, dismissive, plain, robust, simple, strong, tireless, helpful, sensitive, profound, motherly, grandmotherly, friendly, old wise woman as well as tender, vulnerable, radiantly in love. With a great pain and a big heart - but she keeps both hidden deep inside of her. "Life makes life go on." Deeply connected and yet alone. Al(l)One with everything, while diving in the sea.


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The Haenyeo...
...are at home in the silence of the sea. Every day for up to 7 hours, in and under water, while holding their breath for more than 3 minutes. Breaking the surface, in stages they loudly blow out the air they are holding, while breathing in fresh oxygen, too. "Sumbisori" is the name of the peculiar whistling sound, for which each haenyeo finds its own variation. When they have deposited their prey in the net and their breathing has returned to normal, they launch again and dive back down into stillness. This is a world unto itself. Mentally focused on the now. Physically hardened by sun, wind and salt water. Depending on the time of year, tide and weather, several hours in the sea are followed by long breaks in order to warm up by the fire, together with the other haenyeo. Haeneyo is what women do. Haenyeo shapes the women of the island, makes them self-confident, independent and firmly connected in matriarchal community. After warming up, it's back into the water for several hours. It is an intense, existential, essential life in total surrender to the sea.

"Everglow" honors the life and tradition of the sea women or daughters of the sea in two respects, in that the story of the story has just such a monument and legacy as its subject: A documentary about the Haenyeo, which is to be broadcast on television.

Girl power and Haenyeo go hand in hand on Jejudo. Life on the island follows different rules and rhythms than on the mainland. Diving for valuable seafood of all kinds off the coasts of the volcanic island has traditionally been a woman's job. A lucrative one at that. The seabed is like extended farmland. The Haenyeo and its contribution to the cultural life on the island is undisputed and has even been included in the UNESCO list of intangible world heritage sites since 2016. Since 2017, the Haenyeo have also been officially recognized as an intangible cultural asset of South Korea. A culture that is dying out. Hardly any of the professional divers today are under 50, most are over 60. The technical equipment is almost the same as at the beginning of their career, which begins for most at about 8 years - with plenty of swimming and diving training in shallow water. From about 15 they are then considered "Baby Haenyeos". Experience and training are everything, because it's about nothing less than daily survival using enormous lung capacity, robust physicality for high resistance to the cold and a lot of practice in equalizing pressure. Once you are a daughter of the sea, you rarely get away from it. There is no retirement age. After bathing suits became neoprene suits, the time in the water between breaks could be significantly increased. Some swim out from shore, others take boats, and still others engage in some form of island hopping. Each has their sea farm, which they reap almost daily.

And each has a tremendous knowledge of nature, the sea, the wind and the tides. The women always work in community, take breaks in community and support each other in community. Haenyeo are environmentally conscious marine experts from the very beginning and pioneers of an emancipated life. (Significantly, Jin Ok is given the suffix or title 'Uncle' - as the eldest of her group, she is both a person of respect and, as the binding matriarchal head of the community, equal to any man who would otherwise hold this position in Confucian tradition.)





----------------- SIDE NOTE: --- Uprising 1948/49 ---
Since "Everglow" deals with the simple life of the now mostly old Haenyeos on Jejudo, the memories of the 72-year-old protagonist inevitably also touches on a lesser-known event in recent history that shook the island deeply: an uprising against an anti-communist government campaign. Between April 1948 and May 1949, the resistance cost around 30,000 people (about 10 percent of Jejudo's residents) their lives.
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Disillusioned life scenario, yet spiked with moments as the ego steps aside + heartopening happens

A wonderful movie in many ways.

This KMovie is aiming straight at the heart. This is already indicated in the international title "Keys to the Heart". Also, that the piano plays a key role - i. e. its 88 white and black keys.

The original title is more like "This only is my world" and refers in its own way to the piano, because this is the world of the autistic protagonist Jin-tae. However, this also refers to the (also limited) world of his brother Jo-ha, to which Jin-tae starts belonging. Additionally, revolving around Jin-tae (and Jo-ha) is their mother. "Keys to the Heart" is a story about that mother and her two very different sons. She left one of them decades ago as a little boy under dramatic circumstances and to date he hasn't forgotten, let alone forgiven. The other is autistic with savant syndrome.

It´s a given that the story intends to bring tears to your eyes. Yes. The story wants to get to the heart. But not generally in a tender, comforting and blissful manner. In fact, there is nothing but pain drifting around those hearts in this story. The framework of the plot draws a disillusioned, depressed scenario of the lives of ALL characters - regardless of whether they are rich or penniless, or otherwise have a more or less comfortable living. (The exception to the rule here is the autistic Jin-tae.) As if it were the most natural thing in South Korean everyday life for people to suffer. There is a good deal of social criticism in this KMovie. I think that's often overlooked in its critics or reviews.
There's the drinking, beating father; the abandoned son; the penniless son who can do nothing but box; the brutal world of dog fighting, where boxers beat each other bloody for money; the single mother with cancer; the mother with guilt; the autistic son; the depressed, suicidal, rich, once famous invalid; the Jaebeol CEO, whose money doesn't help her to be able to buy back her daughter's happiness. Eventually "Key to the Heart" is a dreary, sobering contemporary document. Not a picture of society of the crisis-ridden 1990s, no. It is a simple, unpretentious social inventory of the South Korean affluent society from the year 2018...

Now, some heart-warming light is shining into this fundamentally gloomy everyday world. (And in those of the audience as well.) In rather small spots though. These are brief details, inconspicuous moments (apart from the big spotlight of the finale, which is a bit more spectacular). However, those little spots make all the difference. Not a flash of inspiration, rather a flash of the heart, in which the injured ego steps aside for a moment: for a moment of clarity for the essential: actually, what´s NOW. For a moment, people can just let go of all grief and become open to what life has to offer just NOW: beauty, warmth, joy, hope. This NOW can transform, heal, completely change the view of the world. The world on this earth itself is the same, yes, the planet does not change its orbit because of it. It's not suddenly 'everything will be fine again'. And yet it is something like 'everything-IS-good'. ... That brings us to the KMovie's favorite quote: "Impossible is not a fact. It's an opinion." (Muhammad Ali)

Admittedly, a button is pressed when it comes to the piano music. The classics take their space. But here, too, the story does not fail to take the opportunity to point out the ego-driven business with it - the talent and passion of the musicians may be on the one hand, but the very personal interests of teachers and directors are on the other...
Of course, with Jin-tae as a young man with an autism spectrum disorder with savant syndrome, the KMovie is deliberately pressing another selected button, with the intention of moving hearts. Nevertheless, even this developmental disorder is not romanticized, yet shown as demanding and exhausting to deal with.
Particularly pithy and powerful: The contrast between the world of the buttoned-up, reserved, respectable, reasonable and properly dressed classical music scene and the childlike, impulsive and playful but brilliant Jin-tae, whose piano playing tears down walls for a moment.

At last, we are back at the beginning: a story about that mother and her two very different sons... There is hurt, sorrow, the pain of loss and guilt - all is there, what life has to offer to become estranged from each another, or to feel lonely and abandoned. And that's where love - no matter how screwed up - finds its screwed-up moments. I don't think predictability is a problem with this movie, because it doesn't want to be 'enthralling'. Yet, it wants to touch the heart, and it does. Eventually, that's good for everyone. With this movie, it is the HOW that is decisive: by sober narration of a basically rather depressing story that thrives on short, unspectacular moments (and the actors) in which 'new' NOW-decisions are made and heart opening becomes possible.

Great!





--------------------------- SIDE NOTES --- Savant syndrome ---

Savant syndrome has often been a topic in the cinema, for example in the US production "Rain Man". There are only around 100 "Savants" known worldwide (from the French 'savoir' = knowing, how to do it). Accordingly, the phenomenon has only been scientifically examined to a limited extent. In the musical field, there are various examples of Savants (like the fictitious Jin-tae here in the movie) who, without any music lessons, are able to play the most difficult pieces of music with accentuated detail after just hearing it once - solely thanks to their perfect hearing.

However, Savant syndrome usually goes hand in hand with autism spectrum disorders. This in turn refers to developmental disorders of varying severity. The people affected typically have little interest and competence when it comes to social interaction. They prefer to live in their own world. Generally, their perception is strongly focused on details and does not weight them like the otherwise socialized majority around them. Details that others usually overlook become subjectively crucial, while information considered essential to their environment may not play any particular role at all. Information is initially unfiltered, being of equal value in its perception. Thus, without the social-cognitive filters that non-autistic people learn to develop, the moment of sensory overload followed by stress is quickly reached.
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It is not a fun movie, yet it is radiating truly positive energy in spite of its appalling topic

"Herstory" is an example of a highbrow KMovie, which has real life as its subject and at the same time influences real life as an impact of the movie reception.

It is about the lawsuit brought by a handful of "Comfort Women" from Busan - actual long forgotten/ignored sex slaves for the Japanese soldiers during the Second World War. The trial took place between 1992 and 1998 in Japan. This noteworthy trial set in motion the resolution of a rather dark chapter in recent Asian history.

It was about time to not look away anymore. The subject of "Comfort Women" was until then a taboo subject even in South Korea. The refered to court hearing in the 1990s was actually a milestone in the reappraisal of this chapter. Thus the KMovie "Herstory" is a poignant, publicly effective monument to this chapter in history and honoring the affected, victimized and long forgotten women (and their advocats).

"Herstory" is sensitively illustrating the painful path to this (no less painful) trial as well as its dramatic individual cases. The KMovie becomes the mouthpiecer of at least a few of those women´s fates and at the same time a touching memorial, arousing the awareness of the cruel war crimes committed against civilian women.

It is not a fun movie, yet it is radiating a tuely positive energy in spite of its appalling topic! I consider it in several respects highly valuable.

It is about empowerment and sisterhood. The cast ist outstanding.
This movie is confronting glorious ´his´stories with ´his´ rather tabooed ignominious behaviours... and thus make it ´her´stories.




---------------- SIDE NOTE --- Historical Comfort Women in World War II ---
For a long time, the fate of an estimated 200.000 Korean young women and girls, who were traumatized as sex slaves by the Japanese military during World War II, went unnoticed by the world. Until the 1990s their existence was a taboo - even in South Korea! In fact, Japan's government and military recruited (mostly) Korean young women and girls. They were used against their will in so-called "comfort stations" as "Comfort Women" for motivation of the armed forces - i.e. as sex slaves being abused by the sodliers.

Officially, this fact was (and still is to some extent) vehemently denied by the Japanese side and hasn´t been clarified for more than 5 decades, let alone talked about reparations. However, in terms of international law, what happened has to be considered war crimes, crimes against humanity, as well as slavery and trafficking in women and children - crimes they are. However, the war crimes tribunals after the end of the Second World War were more concerned with crimes against members of the Allies. So in public THOSE crimes against civilian women were forgotten.

With this particular court hearing the movie is refering to, for the first time a verdict in favor of the (comparably few) plaintiffs was at least partially reached. The ladies, who had meanwhile aged, were actually awarded a ridiculously small amount of compensation. So the verdict is still outrageous, but a verdict nonetheless. Nevertheless, as a result, the story of comfort women was publicized for the first time and an international reparation movement was launched.

Obviously the topic had appeared on the table ... but it was still not legally clarified. On the contrary. The issue as such (and its many and even more individuale cases) have still not been satisfactorily resolved ... while most of the actual victims have by now died of age.

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Quiet in its voice, thunderous in its impact – a drama of nuance, humanity & whispered revolution

Between Wind, Clouds and Change – "King Maker: The Change of Destiny".
Some dramas tell about history – others tell how history is made. "King Maker: The Change of Destiny" does both. It's also a historical KDrama that doesn't just focus on battles or hero myths, but makes the art of face reading (Gwansang) the narrative compass: Whoever wants power must understand people – and themselves. The story takes place in the late Joseon era, a time of political upheaval and dynastic power struggles. But instead of swords, the drama talks about people who deal with knowledge – and read faces. The series is based on the novel "Wind, Clouds and Tombstone" by Lee Byung-joo and creatively reinterprets historical events.

At the center stands Choi Chun-joong, a man not only talented at physiognomy, but who has a deep sense for the movement between fate and choice. His gift for reading personality, future, and intention from a face makes him a valuable advisor, but also a target for political intrigue. Park Si-hoo plays Chun-joong with subtle intensity – a man who thinks more than he speaks, but whose presence fills every scene. At his side is Princess Lee Bong-ryeon (Go Sung-hee), who struggles with her own tragic gift – seeing the fates of others. Go Sung-hee gives Bong-ryeon a quiet dignity, shifting between vulnerability and determination.

I´d say the quiet, deep relationship between Chun-joong and Princess Lee Bong-ryeon gives the series an emotional warmth that goes far beyond grand gestures and touches through small, sincere moments. Their love is marked by separation, reunion, and the burden of fate – less passion, more loyalty. Their romance is not the center, but rather the emotional backbone – giving the political drama a human depth. It's like a river that always flows, even as the banks change. Their bond is based on shared gifts – face reading and destiny reading – and becomes a kind of spiritual complicity. It shows how intimacy lives not in big gestures, but in shared understanding. The romance is quiet, but sustaining – an echo underlying everything.

The series doesn’t follow a classic hero’s journey, but tells of entanglements: between the power-hungry Prince Lee Ha-eung, who loses himself between reform and control; between officials who renegotiate their loyalties daily; and between people whose moral decisions influence the system more than titles. Especially impressive is the calm, almost tentative narrative style, using time jumps not as breaks, but as mirrors for human maturity.

The drama convinces with a finely tuned ensemble performance. The relationship between Chun-joong and the ambitious Prince Lee Ha-eung is a prime example of ambivalence and power psychology. Jun Kwang-ryul shines as the power-conscious Prince Lee Ha-eung, whose performance captures the full moral complexity of the era, balancing ambition and regret. The supporting characters are also carefully and multi-layeredly designed – from scheming officials to tragic outsiders. They’re not just decoration but part of a system that enables as much change as it prevents. Particularly interesting is the cultural background: The art of face reading – called Gwansang – gets a tangible, almost magical significance in the series. It’s not just a trick, but a mirror for responsibility, freedom of choice, and compassion.

What makes "King Maker: The Change of Destiny" so special is its quiet, poetic narration: Political intrigues, conflicts of loyalty, and personal sacrifice are not made sensational, but are shown with respect for the characters and their development. The love story between Chun-joong and Bong-ryeon is tender and believable – it grows out of mutual understanding and shared worries, not dramatic coincidences. Their relationship stands for mutual respect and quiet strength.

The production scores with atmospheric camerawork, detailed costumes, and a fitting soundtrack. Every scene feels lovingly staged and invites the viewer to let the slow unfolding of fate and change wash over them.

"King Maker: The Change of Destiny" is not a loud drama, but a quiet, intelligent masterpiece, convincing with its humanity, well-placed accents, and deep appreciation for tradition and change. Anyone willing to embark on a journey of delicate nuances, fascinating history, and gentle romance could as well love this KDrama.

This KDrama is a moving homage to the quiet forces of change, to the power of perception and humanity. A series for heart and mind – and a recommendation for anyone wanting to feel how history, magic, and love can meet on soft feet.





--------------------------- SIDE NOTE: GWANSANG in "King Maker: The Change of Destiny" --------------------------------------

Gwansang continues to shape the cultural self-understanding of many people to this day. What appears as “face reading” in historical dramas like "King Maker: The Change of Destiny" is more than just interpreting external features. It is an echo of ancient shamanic practices, an intuitive grasp of truth—deeply rooted in Korea’s spiritual history. Even today, many people seek counsel from face readers or shamans when it comes to fate, love, or decisions. Between tradition and trend, this art lives on—as a mirror of a culture that never completely loses sight of the invisible.

In Korean culture, the art of Gwansang has a centuries-old tradition. It is the art of drawing conclusions about character, fate, potential, and even future events from facial features. The forehead as a sign of wisdom, the eyes as mirrors of the soul, the jaw as a measure of determination—these are all classic elements of this ancient teaching. But Gwansang is more than physiognomy in the Western sense: it also touches spiritual dimensions, for behind the visible form, an invisible echo often resonates—an aura, an energy, a truth between the lines.

As a cultural practice, Gwansang becomes an ethical touchstone in “King Maker: The Change of Destiny.” Here, especially through the character of the “Taoist” or "Fortuneteller" Choi Chun-joong, Gwansang is not portrayed as magic but as an intuitive science that influences political decisions. The art of face reading is not romanticized but reflected upon. How far can one really see? Where does perception end and wishful thinking begin? The face becomes a map—not for destiny, but for decision. Princess Bong-ryeon, in contrast, represents another, intuitive level: she senses destinies in advance, has visions, and follows not the logic of what is visible but the inspiration within. Their connection brings together two paths of knowledge: calculation and intuition, reason and empathy. In this way, the series shows that true understanding happens not only through the eyes—but also through the heart. And so, King Maker ultimately becomes a meditation on responsibility: those who read faces must also be able to look within themselves.

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It is about the area of tension between longing, choices in life, accountability and responsibility.

"A Man and a Woman" is emotionally profound, yet subtly leading into intimate depths where it hurts, too. There are no pink ribbons. And the intimate encounter of two souls does not miraculously sort out the problems of the world in a groundbreaking way. Life is difficult. There are also unexpected beautiful moments. But life remains difficult. Is that why it's bad? Only bad? "A Man and a Woman" paints a portrait of two people who have careers of their choice and families - but life is still no lollipop. It is about having an affair. It is about wanting another life. It is about the area of tension between longing, choices in life, accountability and responsibility.

Highly valuable.

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A love story, that is told in a completely unorthodox way. Impressive in a refined manner

Capturing so much feeling quite sensitively and lifelike, “Remember you” is definitely for KMovie connoisseurs - with a memorable story and two wonderful leads deeply touching the audience's soul.

However, the story is not at all concerned with meeting common audience expectations. The KMovie chooses its own pace while poetically linking the loose threads into a three-dimensional pattern – in a stringent but by no means linear manner, purposefully but without any haste.

“Remember you” (or rather “Don’t forget me”, as the original title says) is mostly a love story through and through. However, it is a love story, that is told in a completely unorthodox way.
The past that lies behind – with the memory of it having the potential to ripping emotional abysses with brute force. The future, that lies ahead – with hope dwelling inside. The present – in which the ´now´ can become a safe zone. Within and throughout: the transcendent power of love.

There is something meditative about “Remember You”. We´re stumbling alongside the amnesiac protagonist through his (to him) strange present, with people coming and going. It almost feels like in a dream. He acts on the outside while inwardly commenting and silently asking his questions to an inner authority that should know... But the inner authority is mute.

The memories of the male protagonist, who suffers from amnesia, come back in fragments and immediately collapse again. The soul has found its own ways in dealing in a somewhat more bearable way with an almost unbearable reality. But ultimately, this situation, too, still is not really bearable either. The KMovie portrays a desperate psychological wrestling with reality - of the male lead on the one hand, and the female lead on the other.

Before we notice it, at the latest as soon as the puzzle has been put together, we suddenly find ourselves very close to the no less desperate inner world of the female lead. After being very close to HIM for so long and learning to feel with HIM, we suddenly find ourselves compassionate with HER emotional horror trip...

Impressive in a refined manner!




PS:
The KMovie “Remember You” is based on a short film by the same director. Based on this template, crowdfunding was used to raise funds for an international independent cinema film production. $32,000 was donated for this purpose. When it premiered in South Korea, “Remember You” grossed around $2 million already.

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Romance & Bromance at its best in (still warlike) post World War II years on once Joseon´s soil

"Road No. 1" is an intriguing KDrama that takes a close look at the (still warlike) post-war years in Korea after 1945. On impulse we might think of the Korean War of 1950-53, but for the Korean people the struggle between North and South began much earlier (see below if you like).

There are definitely plenty of tragic fates and stories to tell from that time. "Road No. 1" is one of them, splendidly captured within 20 episodes full of human struggle for life and love. Here you will find romance and bromance at its best. Emotively staged against a backdrop of uniforms, guns, grenades, explosions, barbed wire, the 38th parallel and Road No. 1.





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Side Note: ---- HISTORIC BACKGROUND ----

The 'No. 1' is the road that connects Seoul and Pyongyang - after the end of World War II in 1945, these were the two largest cities in Korea, having been annexed by Japan since 1910 as the Chōsen province. After the surrender of Japan, the province of Chōsen was (like Japan itself) occupied by the Allies. The Soviet Union and the USA, as trustee administrators, had divided the country along the 38th parallel into two occupation zones. In fact, the Korean people weren't too keen on (again) not being given state sovereignty.
With the departure of the Japanese, the struggle for the future of the country began - a struggle between different visions and perspectives. The allies favored the political positions they liked - e.g. Joseph Stalin and Mao Zedong with Kim Il-sung a communist state in which only one politically active party should exist; the USA a Western-style constitution for the South with a Christian-capitalist orientation. However, there actually was also a nationalist, anti-foreign grouping within the country that (by tradition) particularly opposed the American occupation and its Western values. They engaged in a guerrilla war that began as early as 1946. That is, where "Road No. 1" has its roots and starts off. And that's a good thing, because this aspect is sometimes lost in the historical representation of the western hemisphere...
This resistance struggle´s position was much closer to communist ideas than to the western value system, which still seemed rather foreign up to that point. Just because the former colonial ruler Japan was one of the losers of war, the former Joseon doesn't have to be happy to make a 100° about-face towards Western democracy... What the country or its people wanted was actually not seriously considered. The promised election did not come about. It simply fell underneath the wheels of the Cold War. For the Soviet Union and the USA, Korean policy was based on post-war events and global political muscle flexing. However, for the Korean people, who had never been never tired of resisting oppression under colonial rule, things just kind of went on. From the rain in the eaves...


--- People's Republic of Korea - a non-starter ---

In fact, it completely escaped my historical knowledge that BEFORE the division into a communist North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) dominated by the Soviet Union and China plus a South Korea occupied by the USA (Republic of Korea), there had also been a KOREAN vision for the future of the peninsula. After Japan's capitulation, the 'People's Republic of Korea' (NOT EQUAL to the Democratic People's Republic of Korea alias North Korea) was proclaimed as a provisional government on September 12, 1945 for BOTH zones of occupation. Initially, the basis of the new constitution and government was supposed to be created from a network of people's committees. The program was radically social. The aim was to establish Korea's complete independence and a democratically governed public life for a free people.
In the north, the People's Republic was taken 'seriously' by the communist occupiers (effortlessly, so to speak, due to the similar attitude). In the south, however, the military controlled political events were based on a rigorous anti-communist attitude. Of course, the USA did not like this communist-affine new political perspectives towards the peninsula at all. In 'their' southern provinces, they even went so far as to ban the ´People's Republic´ (purely because of its communist ideas). This fueled resentment... and there it was again: resistance.


--- National Uprising ---

In 1946, the so-called Autumn Harvest Uprising marked the beginning of public, sometimes massive, resistance, which took on further forms in 1947 and finally culminated in a national uprising in 1948. The USA had to react quickly and so they sponsored the lesser evil: the elections for the first 'Republic of Korea' in August 1948: the autocratic Rhee Syng-man. Although he was not in principle friendly to the USA, nor was he an enthusiastic democrat or even an advocate of human rights, he was opportunistic enough to also cooperate in the interests of the USA. He was also anti-Japanese and anti-communist. South Korea was given a Western-style constitution, and from then on it had to be guided by Christian and capitalist values. Of course, after the South voted, the North had to follow suit (with the formation of the DPRK).
The Korean people were thus separated - politically, geographically, economically and socially - and had been incited against each other by propaganda and degraded to the pawn of global political muscle flexing. Industry, resources and energy supply were concentrated in the north, while two-thirds of the 30 million Koreans were living in the south. And they initially fought against the paternalism of the American military. Between 1948 and 1950, guerrilla fights against the South Korean Republic's military and police cost the lives of around 7,500 official security forces and around 34,000 civilians - even before the actual Korean War even began. The people strived for unity. But politically there was only an either-or (communism vs. ultra-nationalism).


--- Korean War with international participation ---

In 1950, Kim Il-sung made use of the situation in the south as well as of his military and material superiority. He wanted unite the country in his interests (and under his constitution). Rhee Syng-man had his military resist as best they could until international intervention by the UN led by the USA actually pushed back the North Korean army. However, in view of the new situation and the global dimension, China rushed to North Korea´s aid. There was fierce fighting, on land and at sea. At the end, the armistice, which is still in force today, includes the concession against the background of the Cold War that there will still be the Republic of Korea in the south and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea in the north.
After ca. 2 million civilians, around 1 million Korean and Chinese soldiers, as well as ca. 40,000 UN soldiers having given their lives to this war, everything remained just as it had been before. In sum: A divided country that had been cheated of its autonomous sovereignty. Patronized Koreans. A people with split identity. Separated families.

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