[HanCinema's News] "Because I Hate Korea" Marks a Bitterly Negative Frontline for This Year's Busan International Film Festival

As the largest film festival in Asia with a similarly important film market to match, the Busan International Film Festival (BIFF) is front and center when it comes to promoting South Korea as a film center and cultural center for the region. Consequently, many have been surprised to see "Because I Hate Korea" opening for BIFF this year. Based on the novel of the same title, "Because I Hate Korea" depicts Hell Joseon, a notion associated with youth malaise over poor economic and social prospects.

Advertisement

Negative depictions of South Korean culture in the country's media are far from new. "Parasite" and "Squid Game" both stand out as popular, wildly lauded titles that depict the country in ambivalent terms. But "Because I Hate Korea" has a far more realist scope. Its heroine, played by Go Ah-sung, simply gives up on South Korea entirely, finding personal fulfillment in New Zealand, away from a tedious commute and a crowded family home.

Hell Joseon is far from a new idea, dating back to the mid-teens. So the continuing, if not increasing relevance of "Because I Hate Korea" is an unsettling trend. It shows a youth culture in South Korea that, rather than wanting to work a job or have a family, simply wants to abandon the country entirely to travel the world. While this is a convincing enough story of personal development, it's difficult to imagine what benefit South Korea has from projecting this kind of brand.

In one sense, for a film like this to headline the Busan International Film Festival, South Korea shows itself as an exemplar of free speech and democracy. But on the other end, the question is begged, if free speech and democracy are so wonderful, how is it that this malaise even exists in the first place? Why is there only serious energy behind films documenting that this trend exists, with no comparably serious efforts to solve these social problems?

These troublesome questions go beyond the aesthetic. Despite the high profile granted to "Because I Hate Korea" at BIFF, it's unclear whether the film will have much distribution beyond that market. As of yet, "Because I Hate Korea" still doesn't have a release window in South Korean theaters.

Written by William Schwartz