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Cinema at the Edge of Genre

The Korean Weird Wave is not exactly like the Greek Weird Wave, which derived from unusual narrative and character choices that border on the absurd. The Korean equivalent includes movies with a fiction or science fiction base but arthouse aesthetics, almost mocking genre cinema through their lack of special effects or conventional action.

Most of these titles are supposedly futuristic or dystopian, but their settings differ little from current times. Insufficient funds and lockdown shooting difficulties may have contributed to this approach, but the result is a series of productions that can easily be described as unique.

1. Maggie

Maggie (2018)

Having a newcomer director and protagonist is already a hard task, and YI Okseop took it further by implementing an episodic narrative that looks more like a collage of ideas than a compact movie.

An X-ray of a couple having sex causes a scandal in a hospital in Seoul. Nurse Yeo Yoon-yeong suspects the people depicted may be she and her boyfriend and decides to resign. When she returns the next day, however, she finds the hospital abandoned, with the exception of the head nurse. Meanwhile, her lazy boyfriend starts filling sudden sinkholes appearing all over Seoul, while a catfish that can predict earthquakes functions as the narrator.

Following such an abstract narrative is not the easiest thing one can do, with YI changing themes, protagonists and subjects almost with every scene. At the same time, her approach towards this collage of ideas is rather funny, particularly regarding confidence and faith in each other. The episodes can be interpreted as comments on relationships, unemployment and emotional gaps in contemporary Korea.

More like a collection of shorts than a compact movie, Maggie (2018) establishes one of the wave's central patterns: familiar Korean reality disrupted by inexplicable phenomena.

2. Fallen

Fallen (2021)

Probably one of the most confusing, chaotic and genre-bending movies of recent years, Fallen (2021) follows very few rules of genre cinema and includes as many different elements as possible.

The story begins with famous science fiction writer Baek Jo-kyeong being interviewed about her work, before the session turns towards a revenge sex tape circulating online. Soon afterwards, she wakes up in an abandoned warehouse with her hands tied and the word "fallen" tattooed on her back. Elsewhere, diplomats, agents and lawyers are determining the fate of a serial killer from 2059 who travelled through a sinkhole in Seoul.

Apart from the confusion, disorientation and surrealism that dominate the narrative, another obvious element is its pretentiousness. The movie also resembles a stage play, particularly through the council of agents and Jo-kyeong's discussions in the warehouse. These scenes comment on the way society treats women, the workings of show business and government, and the possible direction of technology.

Most of these comments are either on the nose or lost inside the overall confusion, intensified by abrupt editing and the mixing of present, past and future. YANG Ji is quite good in presenting Jo-kyeong's discomfort, disorientation and resolve. Fallen can be characterized as nonsensical, but it is also original and visually impressive.

3. The Prayer

The Prayer (2021)

A feature-length version of the story originally screened in the 2020 SF8 series, The Prayer (2021) is a rather impressive science fiction and dystopian movie, particularly due to the dilemmas it raises and its intense, iconoclastic elements.

In the future, the caretaking of chronic patients has been assigned to nursing androids who resemble family members but must be paid for by the patients' families. Yeon Jeong-in has been taking care of her comatose mother for ten years, while Choi Jeong-gil cares for her senile husband with the help of an older, unreliable model. Eventually, both women succumb to despair, with the robots being the ones that have to decide what will happen.

MIN Kyu-dong directs a movie that thrives on context. One of the most obvious comments concerns the gap between the rich and the poor, since even when useful technology becomes available, this does not mean everyone can afford it. Caring for the elderly is another central topic, while the narrative also connects the issue with euthanasia.

Probably the most interesting aspect is the way MIN implements religion, and Christianity in particular. The finale's iconoclastic audiovisual extravaganza provides its most impressive moment, with cinematography, coloring, editing and sound coming together for a magnificent scene. The visual approach follows the trend of South Korean science fiction movies that are anything but special effects heavy, focusing instead on saturated, dystopian realism.

4. The Fifth Thoracic Vertebra

The Fifth Thoracic Vertebra (2022)

To realize the weirdness of The Fifth Thoracic Vertebra (2022), it is enough to mention that it revolves around a fungus. The organism grows on a mattress that travels to the bedrooms of different couples and eventually begins biting their fifth thoracic vertebrae as it develops into something very close to an actual creature.

The evolution of the creature functions as an excuse for PARK Sye-young to present his many and rather interesting social comments. The difficulties relationships present in contemporary society are among the most central ones, as are loneliness, death and sex, all ingeniously connected to the mattress, both literally and metaphorically.

The same duality applies to the monster, which seems to feed on all the negative feelings the protagonists experience until it is revealed as a creature tormented by the same ailments. Apart from giving an uncanny essence to a movie that could have been another independent drama, the monster connects the different episodes and allows the work to function as a compact narrative.

PARK has explained that the inspiration came from a particular fungus on his wall that simply would not die or disappear. This mundane starting point summarizes the wave particularly well: extraordinary creatures emerge not from laboratories or distant planets, but from familiar spaces.

5. Base Station

In Base Station (2024), PARK Sye-young continues along the same path of originality, although in a completely different style and in collaboration with YEON Ye-ji.

The story revolves around two siblings, Eden and Hyun-ho. The latter has been sick for years, and his older sister has decided that electromagnetic waves are responsible for his condition. She takes him into the mountains, where they live away from civilization. When they enter the city, Eden encounters technicians installing equipment for a technology faster than 5G called Li-Fi, although something far more sinister seems to be happening.

PARK and YEON appear to draw inspiration from Save the Green Planet (2003), particularly in the way Eden perceives electromagnetic waves. However, Base Station is far more unconventional and ambitious in its audiovisual approach. One of its standout features is the transformation from a dystopian, naturalistic narrative into a delirious thriller.

This shift is particularly impressive due to the innovative use of sound. The impact of gunshots, conveyed only through sound rather than visuals, creates a grotesque and striking effect. The dizzying images also add to the overall atmosphere of disorientation, as does the forest setting.

The fact that Base Station is essentially a two-person endeavor, with YEON also playing Eden and handling the music and production design, adds even more to the quality of the effort.

Across these five productions, a clear pattern emerges. The Korean Weird Wave exists at the edge of genre, employing science fiction, horror, fantasy, dystopia and comedy without allowing any one of them to dictate the overall form. These movies are not particularly interested in spectacle or believable alternate worlds. Their futures, monsters and technological developments are mostly excuses to examine the present.

This is a cinema of familiar environments invaded by inexplicable ideas. It replaces digital spectacle with unusual editing, sound, production design, performance and atmosphere. Its movies can be confusing, abstract, pretentious or even nonsensical, but they are also among the most original productions to emerge from contemporary Korean cinema.

Written by Panos
Edited by kofic