Sopyonje (서편제) is an incredibly sad-stricken movie looking into the life of a grief stricken family. Partly because of the wretched life of poverty and partly because of the intense control of the father. I personally see this movie as almost something of a dialog of Korean history, a tale of never ending sadness and unavoidable obstacles. The director Im Gwon-taek (임권택), who directs one of my favorite movies Tae Baek Mountains (태백산맥), never fails to amaze me in his ability to create a world I feel so connected to. The actors, of which generally show up in all his films, also contribute a lot in the realization of their characters. Of course the beautiful long shots of the Korean landscape are also breathtaking. Though I’m sure I’ll enjoy spending most of my time in the city, I can’t wait to visit the rural areas of Korea.
Just a super side note, it’s so funny watching this after I’ve seen some other movies and come to learn more about Pansori. Near the beginning there’s a sequence you might recognize if you’ve seen Chunhyang (춘향뎐).
Anyways, I really believe anyone wishing to learn Korean needs to watch this movie. You probably won’t benefit vocabulary-wise, but seeing the traditional culture will help you understand more about the Korean people. In regards to watching movies to learn about Korean culture, this would be one of the top movies on my list.
The whole movie can be summed up in one word: han (한). If you don’t know what han is, you will if you watch this movie. Han encapsulates the idea of existing in a state where you can’t help but live in misery and must learn to just live with it. A common translation is lamentation. Many consider this han to be the representative of Korean culture. I would definitely agree with that analysis. They’ve suffered invasions and are currently divided, furthering the sorrow many have to live with daily.
Is the movie depressing? Well, kind of. I won’t give much away, but pretty much every aspect of the family member’s lives is pure misery. Part of that is fate, part change in the world, part self-inflicting wounds. The only thing that brings them joy is being miserable together doing what the father loves.
If you are interested at all in learning about the roots of modern Korean culture, watch this movie. It may not be exciting or funny, but it is a treasure chest filled with insights into one of the world’s most misunderstood societies.
Cultural Notes
Serving Women
There are multiple scenes where Korean ladies pour the drinks for the men. This is a very traditional role for women which continues even to today if you go to certain types of bars. I personally would never go to one of those places, but that’s just me.
Pansori (판소리)
Pansori, unique to Korea, is a special way of singing and telling a story. It’s actually been acknowledged by UNESCO as a treasure of Korea. Along with this film, another great film to watch if you are interested in Pansori is Chunhyang (춘향뎐).
Han (한)
This is one of those words that doesn’t exist in English. Just read the review about this movie and ask around to other people what they think 한 is. If you have a good explanation, feel free to contribute a comment so others can read your definition as well.
The word for the ‘comfort women’ is 기생 (Gisaeng), quite similar to the Japanese geisha, and served much the same purpose.
As for han, the most succinct definition I’ve heard is ‘long-suffering hopefulness’. It’s the dream, the idea that a Korean person, no matter where they started from, has the chance to rise to the top if they work hard enough. It also says something about the hope for their country – if they work hard enough or try hard enough, their country will become a better place. Hope it helps
@Chris in South Korea
Thanks for the great input!
The term 기생 and comfort women (위안부 in Korean, 従軍慰安婦 in Japanese) are NOT equivalent. Nor are they what you see in 서편제.
기생 are only roughly equivalent to geisha, in that giseng were primarily government slaves, albeit in a skilled and seperate category from regular slaves. They also had non-entertainment roles, particularly if they were attached to government offices away from the capital.
Comfort women (위안부) is a euphamism for sex slaves of the Japanese army during World War II. Women were recruited, often under false pretenses, or outright kidnapped to provide sexual services to soldiers of the Japanese army.
The women you see in 서편제 are bar workers and hostesses. Neither 기생 nor 위안부 is an appropriate or approximate term. I would generally go with the term “bar hostess”
I also dispute that there’s much “hopefulness” in 한. It’s not a positive emotion, but rather a combination of anger, frustration, sorrow, and hopelessness. It doesn’t show any hope that you can rise to the top, but is an expression of the mingled anger/sadness/resignation of people who have little hope for fufilling their dreams or expectations – another reason it’s primarily associated with women.
@Gomushin Girl
I have also never heard about hope being included in 한.
I don’t know if bar hostess would be the correct term either (though I agree that it’s probably closer than comfort women). In American terms, I would think of a bar hostess as simply a girl who brings you some drinks whereas the Korean version includes girls who’s job it is to flirt with you and pour your drinks. This might be one of those terms where there’s no good equivalent.
Such women are and were generally referred to as a hostess in modern parlance. It’s a mostly undefined work position that can run the gamut from “woman who brings you drinks” to “woman who brings you drinks and flattery and a little something else afterwards” In contemporary Korea (as in Japan), they’ve developed into a sub-industry closely alligned with the greater prostitution industry where men visit clubs that specialize in this particular kind of service. “Juicy bars” in the Itaewon and camptown area’s are the foreigner-oriented equivalent, but generally speaking much lower class. There’s also some “host bars” where young, attractive men cater to women wealthy enough to foot the bill. But essentially all of these grew out of the flexible role of women working in inns and pubs. Also, it’s unspoken but fairly widely known that the greater range of female entertainers, including wandering pansori singers, were also sometimes available for sexual services (as were some male performers)
In short, comfort women is completely inappropriate and refers to a very specific group of WWII sex slaves, and while 기생 has some overlap in that they both often provided some level of sexual services, the kinds of women you saw serving in 서편제 were in a broadly undefined and fluid set of hospitality and entertainment services without a particular name. However, “hostess” is in fact the modern version and a recognized term, as well as the one I would use.
I hate to harp on this, but you really, really should change the sub-heading and sentence where you call the women serving in bars “comfort women” It’s a very sensitive subject, and leaving the phrase there is very problematic.
@Gomushin Girl
agreed, done.
tres bien! Nice review ~ one of my history professors at grad school used to mention the sensation this film caused when it first came out. Apparently it was a “mini-blockbuster” and helped spawn a temporary resurgence in the popularity of pansori. And, on a totally unrelated note, I know the woman who played the lead as a young girl ~ and she’s still performing as part of a well-known “modern” pansori group.
@Gomushin Girl
Wow, that’s pretty cool!