In the name of desire
Even when Netflix’s “Kingdom” garnered such worldwide attention in 2019 and Gat, the traditional Korean hat, became the ‘it’ item, I wasn’t surprised. After all, it’s the work of Kim Eun-hee, a writer who knew her way with words. But when the Netflix CEO Reed Hastings mentioned “Kingdom” as one of his favorite shows I was a bit surprised. Netflix is, after all, the bustling hub of all sorts of shows and series across the globe. So I couldn’t help myself but to look back on the global craze over “Kingdom,” which has even caught the attention of Netflix CEO. What makes “Kingdom” unique?
Foreign zombie apocalypse usually starts from an unidentifiable virus. But the origin of the zombies in “Kingdom” are different. The people were on the brink of starvation to which they would happily eat up a dead human to satisfy their hunger, which is how they became zombies. So it was their desire to satisfy their hunger that created these creatures. In stark contrast to the foreign zombies who would slowly move around dragging their dead limbs, the speed of Korean zombies is equivalent to the living, even faster and even more ferocious — and it is because of their wanting, their desire to crave for the living fresh which makes them so savage.
The dead who crave the fresh, living blood! I guess we can’t be freed from our desires even when we’re dead. Desire represents our dreams and hopes, and draws out our deficiencies in the name of failure and despair. Fronting the strict social hierarchy and class division in Joseon Dynasty (1392-1910), “Kingdom” arouses universal sympathy by discussing the universal issue of inequality and social system. It’s no wonder the phrase “Hell Joseon,” a sarcastic allusion invented by Korean youths comparing feudal Joseon Dynasty (1392-1910) to the contemporary society where one’s social success or accomplishment was set from birth, became so popular. We are already living the era of a decades-old future. Perhaps we should start calling Korea as the miniature of the world, or the tragic paradise of desires. Oh, Korea.
“The Uncanny Counter” and city of desire
If England was once the empire on which the sun never sets, Korea today is the empire of everlasting desires. Recently, broadcasters and channels are successively airing drama series which cover the strange creatures encroaching on desires. The groundbreaking record that OCN drama series “The Uncanny Counter”— recording the highest viewership rate ever to be recorded on cable channel OCN and to have the highest viewership rate out of all the series simultaneously airing in cable channels and terrestrial broadcasts — shows that the era of desire has arisen. In “The Uncanny Counter” the bad guys are demons who survive by consuming human desires. These spirits latch onto human bodies and live vicariously through them by relishing on their host’s deepest, darkest desires. These bloodthirsty demons can spot their potential hosts miles away and lure them to give into their urges, until they go for the kill. The more people succumb to their desires, the stronger the spirits become. When staring into the faces of demons in ordinary facial features, the image of Gotham City smeared in black desires popped into my head. Oh, Batman. But where there’s evil, the good also exists. The “Counters,” or the demon hunters offer a catharsis by punching their way through the demons and exterminating them altogether. The viewers can live vicariously through the four Counters as they defeat the evil with their supernatural abilities. They can relate to the quartet even more because the battle suits that they don on does not come with any of the flamboyancies that Hollywood often attire their heroes with. Instead, what the Counters’ choice of suits are their polyester red training outfits. I have those training trousers with baggy knees lying around in my home. Should I try them out too?
“Sweet Home” and the monsters inside
Sometimes epiphany comes after everything blows over. Desire is one of them. Watching demons get beaten up by the Counters was a pleasure. But in one cold day in thewinter of 2020, desire became my biggest threat.
In “Sweet Home,” ordinary people turn into monsters because of their desires. A person who suffered from hunger turn into the “starving” monster; a person obsessed with muscles and proteins become the “protein” monster. Tension in the air is almost palpable as no one knows who or when someone might turn into a monster.
If prior gore films or series about monsters and creatures focused on the spectacular battle scenes between monsters and humans, “Sweet Home” zooms into the moments when monsters erupt out of the humans, because it’s their desires that trigger the transformation. There is no catharsis in fighting and overpowering the creatures. There’s only the people who struggle to overcome their longing. What kind of monster would I become, I wonder?
In “Uncanny Counter,” the protagonist So-mun is stripped of his title as a Counter when he failed to control his anger and acted out of whim to seek his personal revenge. If a demon hunter is susceptible to his desires, what are we to say about it? We are slaves to our desires and have no choice but to become the monsters. As for me, since I’m always in front of the keyboard tormented by deadines, I may become the “keyboard” monster.
“L.U.C.A.: The Beginning” and the birth of a new mankind
To what extent can human desire shape and evolve? It seems only like yesterday that I watched Hyun-su from “Sweet Home” struggling to control his inner desires to stop his monster side from completely consume him. In the spring of 2021, another controversial series “L.U.C.A.: The Beginning” blurs the borderline between humankind and monsters, and asks the viewers the uncomfortable question: What is it to be human and what is it to be a monster?
The stories no longer wait patiently for demons to collect their host’s desires or wait for humans to become gory creatures. Now, people create these monsters with their own hands. Within a secret lab Human Tech and even in a more confidential project called “L.U.C.A.,” Zi O is born by integrating the superior DNAs of six animals such as a fly, immortal jellyfish and electric eel. Zi O is the sole achievement created from this project, and with a blue flash from his eyes, emit electricity and possesses supernatural strength. Can he be called human?
Zi O unconsciously evolves and his abilities strengthen to the point where his body cannot handle his rapidly-growing powers. Animals can instinctively control how much oftheir power they can actually use, but Zi O can’t, and uses his powers at the cost of destroying his own body. His brain cells are fried and as a result, he loses his memory and forgets who he is. Then there’s the “chasing team” who seems to be determined to hunt Zi O down to the earth’s end. They’re planning to dissect every bit of his body including skin, muscle, nerve bundles, blood and bone to collect his genes for a clone. In their eyes, Zi O is not a human with aheartbeat. He’s not even a scary monster. He’s only their oneway ticket to be admitted to a world of affluence, power and glory. Can they be called humans?
As his life gets entangled within the clash of different interests between the national intelligence service, cults and scientists, Zi O comes to a conclusion that humans are the not the answer to the future. To protect his loved ones, Zi O chooses to become a monster rather than stay humane. “The world is already ruined. I cannot rectify it, but I can give hope that it will get better. That’s what I want. And that’s why people like me should exist,” he says.
At the end, Zi O voluntarily uses his cells to create his own army of clones, and steps up to the plate as the creator behind them all.
Zi O is the contemporary Frankenstein born out of human desires. But there are humans who are even more monstrous than the real monsters. Does this mean that we can’t survive this harsh world without turning into one of them? “L.U.C.A.” comes to a shocking end with the announcement of a new era with the birth of a new humankind. Countless Zi Os laughing and talking in the middle of Gangnam station, admiring the cherry blossoms while taking a stroll in Yeouido Park, or jogging along the trail in Han River… Oh, what is this place and who are we? Are we humans or monsters?
Kim Min-jung(Drama critic) / Translated by Lee Jaelim
Kim Min - jung graduated from Ewha Womans University and majored in School of Communication and Media. She is a professor in Chung-Ang University and teaches storytelling methods related to media content. She wrote books such as “What kind of drama is your life?” “Drama recommendations for all-nighters” and “Novel for Promotion” and “Han Hyun-min’s Black Swag.” She is interested in all of people and their stories.
* 《Cultura》 2021 May (Vol. 83) *
