‘“Nobody Helps the Family”: South Korean Cultural Identity in Bong Joon-ho’s 'The Host’

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Abstract

This article examines Bong Joon-ho’s science fiction/horror film, The Host (2006) and interrogates its depiction of a contemporary South Korean family in crisis. The writer considers the film as a resonant cultural artefact and a manifestation of particularly new-millennial anxieties concerned with the continued involvement of the United States in South Korean affairs, fears of an erosion of traditional family values and mistrust of officious, state endorsed bureaucracy. The Host emerges as a profoundly visceral depiction of an ordinary family set against everyone with no one to turn to except each other.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)279-294
JournalCross Cultural Studies
Volume20
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 1 Oct 2010

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