Pak Ch'an-Uk's Oldboy: A Film About Futile Violence and Revenge

Abstract: Pak Ch’an-uk is one of the most popular directors in Korea and his films have been successful both domestically and internationally. His films are known to contain a large amount of violence and other sensitive subjects, which has raised a lot of discussion and criticism. Pak Ch’an-uk’s most well-known film, Oldboy, is no exception. Oldboy has been discussed by film studies scholars from a variety of angles. This thesis discusses the film rather from the perspective of Korean Studies, taking the Korean cultural and historical context in mind. This study analyzes the meaning of the violence and revenge in Oldboy and explores how the themes and references in the film relate to non-diegetic events in Korea’s recent history, as well as how those references function as social criticism. The thesis also looks into the question why the film has received criticism for its violence and suggests cultural and linguistic barriers as a potential reason for this criticism.