Harsh postwar history behind “Korean boom” – Film “A Brand New Life” released

Many of South Korean dramas depict the “secret of birth”. Behind this is its tumultuous postwar history that is characterized by the Korean War, the subsequent division between the North and the South, and the sharp economic growth after the pro-democracy movement. There, some enjoyed fruits of the growth and the others were unable to do it. In particular, war orphans, half-breeds whose fathers are US soldiers having been stationed in South Korea, and children of poor families were in misery. The military regime at that time encouraged their “international adoption” in order to alleviate the problem. The number of the adoptees was said to reach 200,000. For example, in a TV series “Hotelier”, a cool and hard-hearted entrepreneur from the US, played by Bae Yongjun, a South Korean actor, was abandoned by his father and adopted overseas while his younger sister was adopted by another family overseas. Harsh history lies even behind a luxurious hotel. I recommend you to watch the French-Korean film “A Brand New Life”, which is directed by Ounie Lecomte and will be released soon. (Kinoshita Masaaki) * Film’s official site

「韓流」の底に沈殿する過酷な戦後史～映画「冬の小鳥」公開
韓流ドラマには「出生の秘密」を描いた作品が多い。その背景に、朝鮮戦争に続く南北の分断や民主化運動をへた後の急速な経済発展といった激動の戦後史がある。そこには恩恵に浴した人々とそうでなかった人々がいた。なかでも戦争孤児や、駐留米兵との混血児、貧困家庭の子どもたちは悲惨な境遇におかれた。時の軍事政権は、その解決をはかるために彼らの「海外養子縁組」を奨励した。その数はざっと20万人といわれた。例えば「ホテリアー」で、ペ・ヨンジュンの演じた、米国からきた冷徹非情な事業家は父に捨てられ、妹とも別々に海外養子に出された男。豪華なホテルの舞台裏にすら過酷な歴史がひそんでいるのだ。今度公開のウニー・ルコント監督の「冬の小鳥」（韓・仏合作）をみられるとよい。（木下昌明）・映画公式サイト