Daehan Neo-realism and the Conundrum of Aimless Confucianism in Yu Hyun-Mok's Obaltan (1961)

Abstract

Yu Hyun-Mok’s Obaltan (1961) is a paragon of what I will term Daehan Neo-realism, which is a South Korean version of Italian Neo-realism. Daehan Neo-realism introduces a homophonic and homonymic linguistic play involving three distinct types of Korean daehan: (1) 大韓 (the great ethnic Han Koreans), (2) 大漢 (the great ethnic Han Chinese), and (3) 大恨 (the great eternal woe). The goal is to reimagine 大韓 without 大漢 or 大恨. The resulting Confucian conundrum arises when the capitalist rule of profit supplants the Confucian rule of virtue. The film’s critique is directed against the evaporating virtuousness of President Rhee Syngman as he abandons democracy in favour of greater authoritarian rule. This creates a scenario where the resulting aimless Confucianism transforms each South Korean into an obaltan (aimless bullet).