Train to Busan is Korea’s first zombie blockbuster film that led to zombie horror becoming a well-established genre in South Korea. It premiered at the Cannes festival and was also a turning point in the careers of many well-known korean actors like Gong yoo and Ma Dong-seok. It was a box office hit garnering 80.5 million dollars in South Korea and a total of 98.5 million dollars internationally. Train to Busan was unique because it featured a zombie apocalypse on a moving train, increasing the tension and suspense throughout the film. The movie’s success aside from its sophisticated cinematography, is due to its well-developed characters and its allegories to Korean society’s issues and the Sewol Ferry national trauma.
Some of the themes explored in this film include class divisions, capitalism, and self-destructive human behavior. These topics are most notable when the group of capitalism’s elite in business class immediately seclude themselves from those who do not appear to be at the top of the social hierarchy. The class divisions are highlighted when they refuse to save the lives of others in order to save themselves - an allegory for corporate greed ignoring their detrimental impact on the lives of others if it means they can remain at the top. The unfortunate effects of capitalism are also seen in the relationship between the main character Seok Woo and his daughter. Seok Woo is introduced as having a very successful career and then his poor relationship is unraveled since he is disconnected from his daughter and has a failed marriage. While all the daughter seeks is his love and attention, he presents her with gifts - ones she already has in their original box. After realizing his daughter’s biggest wish is to see her mom, he finally allows it and it is when they board the train.
The film is also believed to allude to the 2014 Sewol Ferry national tragedy that occurred when a high school class was on their way to Jeju Island as part of a school trip. The ship sank due to the overloading of the ship by its owner to save money. Out of the 476 people on board, 325 of them were high school students and only 172 survived the sinking of the vessel. The majority of the victims were highschoolers as only 75 of those students made it out alive. This tragedy is particularly imprinted in Korean history due to the fact that the captain and its crew survived by escaping in lifeboats without notifying the passengers of the situation nor attempting to rescue any of them. It is also especially controversial how the aftermath was handled since the news media in accordance with the government initially reported that there were no casualties. This was alluded to in the film when the government is not actively present and power is thus concentrated in the hands of a businessman who manipulates the situation by ordering the crew around in efforts to save himself. Koreans have noticed the connection between the blatant miscommunication between the people and those in power.
Comments
I remember Train to Busan was a huge hit in Korea and even in America after partnering with Netflix. I didn't know it was influenced by the Sewol Ferry incident. I was actually in Korea when the incident happened. Thank you for giving the detailed background on what happened and I like how Korean is bringing awareness through entertainment platforms.