Volume 7, Number 4

Hope or Silenced? — How South Korean Cinemas Launch a Future Without Child Sexual Abuse

  Authors

Xichen Wang, Culver Academies, USA

  Abstract

Although South Korean cinemas and shows are famous for their thoughtful social commentaries, they are often overlooked and regarded as simple commercial tools. Fortunately, in recent years, the movie Parasite and the Netflix show Squid Game have brought such a unique phenomenon in South Korea to the rest of the world. Other than social status, South Korean films often comment on child abuse, including domestic violence and sexual assault. Emerging as a tool to combat the lack of child protection laws in South Korea, directors and writers began and continue to carry the burden of seeking justice. This paper surveys several works of South Korean films focusing on child abuse to highlight how societies responded politically to films. The finding found that the combination of film techniques, Asian countries’ cinematic approach, and government reaction make South Korean social films unique in the world of cinematic arts.

  Keywords

South Korean Cinema, Child Abuse, Political Reactions, Cinematography Techniques, Film and Impact.