Analysis Of North Kang Woo-Suk's Silmido

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The existence of two separate state entities on the Korean peninsula has provided the world with a long history of seemingly static tension. The ongoing friction between North and South Korea leaves a lot of apprehension and doubts of if a successful and peaceful unification is even possible. Looking back, it’s clear the severely divergent directions the military regimes in the north and south headed is part of the catalyst to the current state of the Korean peninsula. The division’s presence becoming increasingly obvious as South Korea economic presence strengthened, and their standing in the global sphere rose. While North Korea suffered drastically in the economic sector. South Korea’s economic success represents an indirect threat to North …show more content…

Unit 684 was made up of 31 men that received harsh and life - threatening training in hopes that they would be successful in completing the assassination of the North Korean leader, Kim Il-sung. However when the Korean peninsula entered a time of intra-peace the mission was called off. Silmido symbolically reenacts the war and the human stories of betrayal caused by division of the two countries and the state. Silmido, much like The Interview, is a film that’s not made for political gain. Instead the film uses the politics as an underlying theme, but the film is about the comradery and brotherhood those 31 men shared. Silmido is a film that works to reinforce nationalistic pride in its audience, as cultural content exists as significant factor in South Korean filmmaking. Although, the film was about how the South Korean state had failed these men and how they were used as pawns for a political agenda. The pride these men had to be redeemed in their country and the pride they had for what they were hoping to achieve drove them throughout the film. It’s that pride that led them to commit suicide in the end of the film, in the name of what they were fighting for which at its core was the dominance and prevalence of South Korea. Historically, South Korea is known for as the larger global player of the two countries. South Korea’s economic success represents an indirect threat to North Korea’s internal political control, and is a major lesson for North Korean leaders. This film was a movie, made with Korean audiences in mind, therefore drawing on the knowledge of South Korea as a global contender and the representation of the drive and willingness that Unit 684 had to endure such hardships and then die for one’s country shows the overall success of South Korea’s ability to function as a country. Juxtaposing that to the portrayal and sheer determination to

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