Framing History: Ideological Underpinnings in the 1960s Yǒnsan Film Series

Abstract

Korean historical films in the 1960s demonstrate the ideological imperatives of the era, which involved constructing a unified and enduring national identity while simultaneously fostering a contradictory historical perspective: the establishment of a new nation-state that diverged from the failed national history of colonization and the Korean War. The Yŏnsan series by Shin Sang-ok exemplifies this necessity by portraying the history of the Chosŏn Dynasty as the origin of modern Korea’s struggles and failures, embodying the ideology of the military regime that seized power in a coup following the April Revolution. Through the films in the series, Prince Yŏnsan (1962) and Yŏnsan, the Tyrant (1962), Shin delves into the public matters of state governance and political turmoil under the private guise of a royal family tragedy, satisfying the ideological requirements of the era through the narrative of melodrama. The depiction of the tyrant, King Yŏnsan, in these films serves dual ideological functions. Firstly, it preserves a continuous national history and provides a foundation for a collective national identity, achieved through the visual spectacle of the Chosŏn Dynasty in all its magnificence. Secondly, by critically appraising the history of the Chosŏn Dynasty, it establishes a disjunction between Korea’s past and present, thus legitimizing the formation of a new nation-state. By converging private and public realms and intertwining familial and political concerns, the series portrays the history of the Chosŏn Dynasty as a family tragedy. Specifically, Yŏnsan, the Tyrant is depicted as staging a justifiable coup; however, through the emotive portrayal of Yŏnsan’s belated repentance, the film communicates a sense of nihilism that implies the vacuous nature of political power rather than fostering optimism for the future. This nihilism can be interpreted as the film’s endorsement of the military regime’s ideology while simultaneously expressing disillusionment with its inherent flaws, such as the collapse of the April Revolution.