Movie based on popular novel puts South Korean gender divide back in focus

CJ CGV

30/10/2019 07:22

By Joyce Lee
    SEOUL, Oct 30 (Reuters) - A movie based on a controversial
and best-selling novel that chronicled the everyday sexism faced
by women topped South Korea's box office this week, reigniting a
national debate over women's roles in an historically
male-dominated society.
    "Kim Ji-young, Born 1982" - based on a 2016 book of the same
name - opened in South Korea last week and immediately
highlighted divisions within the country over sexism, the
anti-harassment #MeToo movement, and feminism.
    The story follows a married woman in her 30s who feels
forced by social circumstances and opinions to give up her work
and dreams in order to raise her young child.
    The movie has been No. 1 at the South Korean box office
since opening a week ago and had sold 9.7 billion won ($8.3
million) in tickets by Sunday, according to the latest data from
the Korean Film Council. 
    A number of women in the audience were audibly crying at a
screening in a small central Seoul theatre on Tuesday.
    Seo Mi-jeong, a 23-year-old woman who was among those in
tears during the screening, said the movie seemed less zealously
"feminist" than simply a realistic portrayal of the challenges
women face.
    "Although there were some parts that seemed exaggerated for
storytelling, it touched on realities in South Korean society
that keep women of different generations from the life they
wanted to lead," she said.
    The movie has highlighted stark gender divides, including
the growing number of young South Korean men who think feminism
and the #MeToo movement have outlived their usefulness. 
    "I couldn't empathise with the premise that a woman born in
1982 was discriminated against when she was growing up," said
Kim Won-koo, a 29-year-old man who saw it on opening day. "Many
of the situations seem unrealistic or very, very rare."
    Women rated the film an average of 9.5 out of 10 stars on
Naver, South Korea's top web search portal, while men gave it an
average of 2.5 stars.
    Part of its box office success appears to come from South
Korean women buying tickets in support of a cause without
actually going to the cinema, many social media posts indicate,
a practice known in South Korea as "sending one's soul".
    In a survey of 1,000 single South Koreans aged between 19
and 44 by pollster Realmeter in September, 81.2% of respondents
said gender conflict was a serious issue in South Korea.
    South Korea has seen both feminist and men's
"reverse-discrimination" debates grow in recent years as the
#MeToo movement ensnared a number of high-profile political,
entertainment, religious and sports figures accused of
harassment or abuse.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL4N1V52WV
    
 ($1 = 1,168.5000 won)

 (Reporting by Joyce Lee; Editing by Josh Smith and Paul Tait)
 ((jungyoon.lee@tr.com; +82 2 6936 1467;))