Hyun Jun kills Vick and Baek San is placed back in custody once again. It is revealed that Seung Hee went to visit Baek San and the leader of IRIS, who wanted to recruit her. Sa Woo leads IRIS members to overtake a shopping centre and hold 107 people hostage with biochemical weapons.
The themes of hierarchy, respect, and pride were used in this episode both physically and symbolically. When Baek San refuses to ask for forgiveness for all his murders, he shows his loyalty to IRIS in not giving up any details of the organization, even with his life is at stake. Due to the lack of respect he was showing, Hyun Jun shoots his leg, forcing him to kneel and be in a “lower” position than Hyun Jun. Though Baek San was on his knees, he still defied Hyun Jun by looking up at him and making eye contact, thus displaying his pride and contempt. Additionally, in the scene where Sa Woo announces himself taking over Baek San’s position, he stands two steps above all the IRIS members, signifying how he is higher up in the hierarchy and holds more power than them by looking down upon everyone. By pointing his gun and firing bullets nearby another member, he enables fear and confirms that he is the one who now has the authority over them. Being physically “higher” than somebody is not only a way to show one’s dominance, but is also a way of being put on a symbolic pedestal.
ReplyDeleteI noticed that some of Hyun Joon and Sa Woo’s characteristics seem to have been switched around in this episode. Hyun Joon always seemed to be the masculine fighter with a compassionate heart, and Sa Woo increasingly have become somewhat cold blooded and ruthless after he joined IRIS. In this episode, we see Hyun Joon hurt some prominent characters, including Vick and Baek San. Hyun Joon’s fight with Vick stuck with me particularly because of how bloody and violent it was. The way audiences were able to see the bullet enter Vick and consequently blood splattering everywhere was quite gruesome. Although Hyun Joon hurt Vick and Baek San with good reason, the violent scenes in this episode that Hyun Joon takes part in portrays him as more ruthless than compassionate. Sa Woo, on the other hand, seemed more empathetic in this episode compared to the recent few. His objection to taking hostages (and killing them) reminds audiences that he still has a heart. Although he does end up taking hostages anyway, as he walks through the department store, the camera focusses on his weary face and the children in the hostage crowd, expressing his concern about the children’s safety. Sa Woo’s little gestures of compassion allows audiences to like him a bit more before the end of this drama. It also prompts audiences to believe that maybe Sa Woo will even end up on the “good” side at the end.
ReplyDeleteMany scenes in IRIS, people dress in tradition costumes which are good samples demonstrate Korean arts. The arts of native Koreans are amazing cultural treasures, which has been bestowed from legendary artisan to fabled artisan since ancient times. Inspired by the world nature, these striking customary handiworks are marked by the employment of organic, natural forms as well as simple adornment. Example of the traditional Korean arts includes clay dolls, folk painting calligraphy, and mulberry paper.
ReplyDeletehuh? what are you referring to, and... ummm...
DeleteThere are finally more foreigners in this episode, but they are not portrayed very well. Similarly to an earlier episode when two foreigners were at a club, the ones from this episode are not good people either. They are all IRIS agents, with most of them having such a small role that they are only there for background purposes. As for the ones who did have speaking roles, they all spoke in english to show that they are foreigners who don't speak Korean. Their conversations with Baek San and Sa Woo happens with a bilingual dialogue, where they would speak English and Baek San and Sa Woo would respond in Korean, and somehow they all understand each other. In more recent dramas, I think actors would try to speak English to foreigners, which makes a lot more sense than having a bilingual conversation. For example, in DOTS, Song Jong Ki interacts with the bad guy played by David McInnis (he also plays the bad guy in IRIS, and now I wonder whether directors/ casting agents cast him because he's good at portraying a bad guy, or whether it is just because he's a foreigner) in English. On the other hand, I like how they tried to show diversity by casting a white guy, chinese? woman, and a black guy. It's a great effort in trying to show diversity and appealing to a wider audience, but there's no point at the end if they are only casted to become bad guys.
ReplyDeleteCatering to the Foreign Audience
ReplyDeleteIt is intriguing to watch the portrayal of foreign actors in this episode because their presence presents a different perspective from what I discussed for episode two and episode six. It appears that members of IRIS come from all over the world and have all come and joined together in achieving IRIS’s goals. From observing all the foreign elements in this drama, it can be assumed that IRIS’s (the drama) target audience are foreigners. However, there is a strange bilingualism evident in this episode that might say otherwise (and is honestly quite laughable too). The non-Korean IRIS members spoke in English and the Korean actors spoke in either Korean or English. A foreigner would speak in English and then the Korean actor would reply with two English words and/or an entire sentence of Korean. The expression on these foreign actors only emit that they do not understand a word of Korean yet they do what they are asked. Based on the languages used between the IRIS members in this episode, it can be said that the lingua franca is Korean rather than English (the Lingua franca for the rest of the world). Even when IRIS (drama) is catering to the foreign audience, the use of Korean as the Lingua Franca between these groups of people rather than English suggests that IRIS is placing Korean culture and language above everything else.
Baek San and Sa-woo have a lot of interactions with IRIS mercenaries during this episode. However, their conversations are awkward due to language. The mercenaries that have been hired seem to mainly speak English as they communicate with one another and to the two ex-NSS agents in this language. English is widely used around the world and is commonly associated with foreigners who go to Korea. It is a global language so it makes sense for these foreign soldiers to use English. Sa-woo also respond to them in English but his voice is much deeper and it does not sound like him. Later in the episodes, Sa-woo address the mercenaries in Korean which is confusing as he used English earlier. On the other hand, Baek San only talks to the foreigners in Korean. The soldiers understand his Korean instantly and I find a bit odd. Some of the mercenaries do not look Korean and they were revealed to be from foreign countries. I find it weird that there is no consistency in the use of language. The drama should only stick to one language when the Koreans and the foreign bodies communicate with each other to make the scenes flow better.
ReplyDeleteAmong many interesting scenes in episode 19, I personally thought Cheol-young's interaction with Hyun joon at the bar stood out to be the most charismatic. Here, we see Hyun joon and Cheol-young sharing a drink at a bar, and that in itself portrays the lack of awkwardness between the two parties. Contrary to the pop culture generation before Kim Dae Jung's presidency, viewers see a sense of brotherhood between a character from the North and the South. The somewhat admirable relationship portrayed between these two characters who each played vital roles for their respective sides of the country towards a common goal shows the viewers that they are really not that different. The strong passion Cheol-young has in his speech, claiming that he would dedicate his life to the people of North Korea rather than the regime calls for respect by the viewers. The bravery of Cheol-young to stand against his regime for the well-being of the people adds to the positive reception of the viewers, and hopefully broke down negative stereotypes against North Koreans
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