Welcome To Dongmakgol

"Welcome to Dongmakgol" is a 2005 Korean comedy that has some dark moments as well. Set during the Korean War, it is the story of a small traditional Korean village that seems to have been left behind by the rest of the world. Into this Eden, stumble an injured American pilot, three North soldiers and two South Korean deserters. An armed stand-off erupts when the two sides first meet, with the villagers symbolically caught between the two sides. The end result of the encounter is the destruction of the village's food storage area. In penance the soldiers agree to take to the fields to help restore the village's supply. Gradually barriers break down and friendship emerges. The whole scenario is prodded along by a young woman who has a few screws loose but also a great connection to nature. The whole utopian scene comes to an end when the big bad Americans decide to find their downed pilot as well as the anti-aircraft base that must have shot him down. The village is threatened and the North and South Korean soldiers carry out an elaborate plan to save it.

The movie was fun, a little predictable, but fun. There were many hilarious moments but there were also a number of serious moments that really brought home some of the chilling memories that Koreans have of the war that left them divided (the bombing of civilians). There is also a fair share of symbolism that just went over my head, because I lack some of the basic knowledge necessary to decipher them. What do the moths represent? How about the owl? The giant wild boar? The village seemed to be representative of Korea itself. It was doing just fine thank you very much until these outsiders come in and mess everything up. If the Communists and the Americans would just let them mind their own business, Korea would be just fine. And if the separation were to end tomorrow the North and the South would pull together and everything in Korea would be hunky-dory because Koreans are all one people. We get the usual representation of the United States, with the individual American pilot being a swell guy, but the nation being a bunch of ruthless bombers. It is not a particularly deep movie, but you do get some good depth about how the common Korean feels about the current situation. So I would recommend it as a fun escape into Korean popular thinking.

How I would use it in class is a little tough. I wanted to check out a Korean War movie because that is something I cover in both my AP US and my AP World classes. But I really do not have the three class periods to have the kids watch it and then discuss it. So I would have to offer it as an extra credit assignment. There are however a couple scenes that might be worth showing to give the students some insight into Korean thinking. In particular, I think the scene when the two sides meet up in the village and they are facing off against each other with all the innocent villagers stuck in the middle is pretty powerful, but at the same time something that the students would get a good laugh out of... so they would pay attention. I would show about a 20 minute section and follow it up with a 5-10 minute discussion exploring how all four players involved were portrayed and how they would feel: the villagers, the Northern soldiers, the Southerners, and the American pilot.

By the way, it is on Netflix.