| Actress Lee Si-young, taking on a role of a former homicide detective who lost her daughter in a crime in MBC action thriller "The Guardians," runs, rolls and hangs onto moving cars, not using a body double. / Courtesy of MBC |
By Park Jin-hai
In contrast to charismatic male characters that have shown a strong presence in Korean cinema, strong female characters have been few and far between. The portrayal of dominant female characters was not seen as a strong selling point.
That has changed.
June sees strong women characters who do martial arts, ride motorcycles and participate in car-chases on small and big screens.
Actress Lee Si-young, who is also a professional boxer, in MBC action thriller "The Guardians" is a total daredevil. Taking on the role of a former homicide detective who lost her daughter in a crime and joins a group of vigilantes to punish the person responsible for her daughter's death herself, she fights off bad men in one blow, runs, rolls and hangs onto moving cars, without the support of a stunt woman.
In the Monday-Tuesday drama slot, all three broadcasters have showcased such strong women characters.
In the SBS period fantasy "My Sassy Girl," actress Oh Yeon-seo takes on a Joseon-era princess role. Faced with injustices and empty formality and vanity of the royal court, the eccentric princess is ready to act on what she thinks is right. KBS drama "Fight For My Way" has actress Kim Ji-won depicting a young department store information desk clerk, who despite an underdog background pursues her dream of becoming the nation's first female UFC commentator.
On the big screen, action-packed warrior-like heroines are blossoming as well. In the newly released blood-drenched action flick "The Villainess," actress Kim Ok-vin plays a skilled assassin Suk-hee, who shoots, stabs and kills with weapons ranging from long daggers to axes. In the film that was invited to premiere in the out-of-competition midnight category of the 70th Cannes Film Festival, Kim did more than 90 percent of her action scenes without a body double.
"I was attracted by the fact that it is a rare film that shows the growth process of a woman," said the actress in a recent interview with a local daily, who expressed regret over the limited number of characters an actress can play in the Korean film industry. Actress Kim Seo-hyung in the action thriller also boasts a charismatic presence, playing the role of the chief of Korean state intelligence agency who recruits Suk-hee and trains her as undercover agent.
"When I said to my friends that I'm going to film a female-centered action flick, they expressed more worry than anticipation and said it's too early to try it here. That made me think that I had to do this now or never," said its director Jung Byung-gil.
In the recently released crime action noir "The Merciless," which also premiered in the Midnight Screenings section at Cannes, actress Jeon Hye-jin plays the role of a senior police officer, who puts an undercover cop into prison to come close to an infamous gang leader to eradicate the drug ring. Among the all-male gangsters, with the cold-headed and charismatic character, the actress made a strong impression.
More female-driven crime and action films will be released. In the upcoming film "Negotiation (working title)" actress Son Ye-jin will play a negotiator in a crisis negotiation team, while Hyun Bin will play the captor, who kidnaps the team's boss. Another female-driven action film "Witch (working title)" telling the high school girl trained to ba murderer through human medical experiments. The film is said to be the Korean version of "Ghost in the Shell."
As for the reasons why such female characters have shown strong presence in both small and big screens, industry insiders say changed tastes of the main target viewers. "Drama's main viewers are women in 20s and 30s. Female characters reflecting such target viewers who tend to be active and independent," said an official of a film distributor. "For long time, Korean cinema has seen all male characters. Those female-centered films are a welcome change and we will see more of such films in the future."