Drama ‘Sea Fog’ centers on true story behind the Taechangho incident
Moviegoers have seen quite a lot of the sea this summer, as ocean-themed films filled the silver screen.
Period action flick “Roaring Currents” showed Adm. Yi Sun-sin’s historic victory, while comedy action flick “The Pirates” depicted imaginary and colorful pirates in search of a whale that swallowed the Joseon royal seal.
Nothing like the first two films, “Sea Fog” presents a grim but realistic look at the ocean, depicting human greed lying under the surface.
“Through the life of six crew members of Jeonjinho (the name of the vessel in the film, translated as ‘to advance’) and Chinese migrants, I wanted to illustrate a blended microcosm of our real life into the film,” director Shim Sung-bo said at the film’s press premiere. “This is not a suspense or a thriller. It is a film about humans’ inborn desires, loneliness and ambiguity.”
The film, set during 1998 during the Asian financial crisis that put thousands of Korean people out of work, forecasts a gloomy outlook as it is adapted from a theatrical performance of “Haemoo” (Korean translation of sea fog) based on a less publicly known tragedy that occurred in 2001.
The Taechangho incident occurred when 25 illegal Chinese immigrants were allegedly dumped at sea by Korean ship crew members, after being suffocated to death inside the ship’s fish storage compartment to hide from the maritime police. The people who suffocated were among 60 Chinese and ethnic Korean-Chinese migrants being smuggled across the border on the Korean vessel Taechangho.
The film follows the basic plot of the accident in detail, piecing together the fictional truth and some of motives behind the ship crew’s action to dispose the bodies.
The film’s realistic portrayal of the accident continues the unique style of Bong Joon-ho, who has painted social realism onto his previous films such as “The Host,” “Memories of Murder” and “Snowpiercer.”
But this time, “Snowpiercer” director Bong takes a different position. He is the executive producer as his “Memories of Murder” cowriter Shim makes his directorial debut.
Bong’s emphasis on taking visually thrilling stories to reflect true humanist details on a visceral level matches detailed storyteller Shim’s discussion of what is under human desire, especially when faced with disaster.
The accident says it all, but it is quite difficult to pinpoint who is at fault for the tragedy in the first place.
The crew members were left with a series of tough choices and they made questionable decisions based on each person’s desire.
Therefore, this film is not geared to judge evil from good or wrong from right. Rather, it illustrates that there is no definite good or evil, and that duplicity and human nature are affected by the environment.
Ironically, the viewers are left with questions of what they would have done if they were in the crewmembers’ shoes. Some might even be able to sympathize with them.
The Jeonjinho leaves the docks hoping to return with a full load of fish only to end up burdened by the weight of human desires.
For captain Cheol-joo, played by Kim Yoon-shik, the Jeonjinho is all he has. Once a dominant fishing vessel in Yeosu, this old vessel lost its worth as the crew failed to catch fish. Cheol-joo plots to make money by trafficking in people rather than selling the ship for its scrap value.
He cries out “Inside this vessel, I am the president,” he tells Chinese stowaways who refuse to go inside the fish storage area. He disposes of dead bodies without any reserve to prevent possible scrutiny.
Unlike Cheol-joo, Wan-ho (Moon Sung-keun), the ship’s engineer who values morality and conscience, is the most sympathetic character in the film. When his morals are tested, he can no longer live normally.
Dong-sik, the youngest of six crew members, played by singer-turned-actor Park Yoo-chun, seems to be the most innocent and strongest character.
He immediately falls for Korean-Chinese migrant Hong-mae (Han Ye-ri), the only girl left on the ship. When Hong-mae becomes the source of the conflict, Dong-sik does everything to protect her. Dong-sik is genuine and less tainted than other older crew members. He values love and humanity even in harrowing circumstances.
As each crew member represents a mutually different desire ranging from social status, sexual desire, money, to love and even morality, the film simply deals with the theme of desire which causes woes for the humankind.
It is not sea fog that dashes the dreams of Chinese stowaways and Korean crew members. It was the ugly side of human desire that destroys everything, leaving few traces behind.
Source: The Korea Herald
Shared by: JYJ3
“This film is not geared to judge evil from good or wrong from right. Rather, it illustrates that there is no definite good or evil, and that duplicity and human nature are affected by the environment.”
” film simply deals with the theme of desire which causes woes for the humankind.”
This sounds so worth watching!
Sounds deep and interesting…
me wanna watch already! but when can I watch?? :'((( *sigh*
so envy those who have watched Haemoo on big screen.
me too! so much chun on so much screen and we missed it 😦 .
I know! Why oh why?? :((((((
Koreans! you lucky bunch *envy!* those who’ve yet to watch the movie, go watch now, what are you waiting for? lol
Maybe soon we can watch it? It sounds really deep and meaningful.
Hopefully soon, dear sis, I hope SOON.
The review makes the goosebumps all over my skin!
Should I watch it? Should I watch it not? Since I’m the type of emphatic audience, I can already see myself bawling and choked by my own snots… -_-
i hear you! me too but i will have to make myself watch and cry lots
A part of me can’t wait to watch Chun portraying the character on screen while the other part of me knows that the storyline and ending may be too heavy for me … 😞
In the end, I know I will still follow my heart ❤️
I will wait for the movie with Eng subs. Then I will probably watch it a few times…… Subs are distracting, I need to see Chunface more…lol…
So far those you have watched say it is dark, heart wrenching love story, make you feel uncomfortable, make you think after watching etc…..
I think this is going to be like Slumdog Millionaire for me. I left the cinema thinking abt the movie, feeling all sorts of emotions, mostly sadness for the characters.
So far this Herald’s review gave the best explanation of the story, at a deeper level, rather than just a synopsis. From other interviews, I kinda know which character represents which human desire. Dongshik represents love.
This is that kind of movie that one needs to see at least twice. The first time gives you all sort of emotional roller coaster and you get out of the cinema feeling a large lump in your throat. It makes you think and questions and challenges your own morality . The second time, you are both emotionally and mentally prepared and you get to enjoy the movie for what it really is and getting out of the cinema you have this weird feeling of having a better understanding of people and also that sense of self-pride thinking I am not so bad a person after all. I am not a film critic but to me all the actors have done a splendid job portraying their characters. That ‘bed scene’, when you see it you don;t get to ogle, you just get to feel. Needless to say, I shed tears. I too have seen Roaring Currents, it seems my 3-day stay in Seoul was spent watching movies, to be quite honest it fell short of my expectations or maybe I expected too much from it. Not because I am biased, I am just someone who likes to watch movies but Haemo is the better film in my opinion.
*scream~~!* *poke!*
So you’ve actually watched Haemoo on big screen??!!! *pouts* so envy you, my dear friend.
“Not because I am biased, I am just someone who likes to watch movies but Haemo is the better film in my opinion.”
Pretty sure this is not a biased opinion coz I’ve read some neutral movie critics sayin’ the exact same thing, hehe…
Am truly happy for Haemoo…
Wow! Bubbly!!!!! Miss you much……*hugs*
I wanted to go to their Seoul concert but I couldn’t get a ticket, well, someone offered to sell her ticket but it’s like she’s robbing me, it was like 3X the original price. There are other chances and true enough I was able to get a ticket for their HK concert. I’ve only got a 4-days leave but most opportunities comes only once so I took it and instead of going back home, made that side trip to HK. and no regrets. It was worth it. Dear, you really have to see YC in person. He was all that and more, much more than what you see on TV and magazines. Gorgeous is not enough to describe him but I think that will be a good start.
Say what? Gorgeous is just a start?? NO WAY!
*criesssssss* me wanna see my Micky in flesh now, now, now-now-NOW~~~ *pouts*
lol~
Seriously, am so happy for you dear friend, you super lucky thing, finally! And you know what?
I’m really glad to know that you went to see him a Chunsa, and you came back a bigger Chunsa, kke…
this is great news to me already, and I’m not even Chun, just a Chunsa happy for her Chun, haha ha…
*tighthugsie*