韩中乒乓球题材体育电影的民族精神表征差异 ― 以≪朝韩梦之队 코리아≫与≪中国乒乓之绝地反击≫为中心―

Abstract

This paper examines the differences in national spirit representation between two East Asian sports films: As One (2012, South Korea) and Ping-Pong: The Triumph (2023, China). Drawing on Jan Assmann’s theory of cultural memory and Fredric Jameson’s concept of national allegory, the study explores how table tennis—a sport highly symbolic in both countries—functions as a medium for shaping national identity and collective memory. As One constructs a “soft, empathetic nationalism” through intimate portrayals of female athletes, emotional reconciliation, and everyday interactions, emphasizing depoliticized, relational, and negotiated memory. In contrast, Ping-Pong: The Triumph employs a “failure–reform–victory” narrative underpinned by institutional discourse and visual rituals, reinforcing national faith and state legitimacy. The two films represent divergent cultural memory strategies: bottom-up emotional repair in the South Korean context, and top-down institutional consolidation in the Chinese context. These differences reflect broader national psychologies—South Korea’s post-Cold War healing of historical division versus China’s post-crisis reinforcement of national narratives. By comparing the narrative and affective mechanisms in both films, the study reveals how sports cinema operates as a vehicle for emotional governance and cultural memory in East Asia, contributing to the discourse on visual nationalism and sports culture.