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I’ve found it difficult to go back and rewatch Kim Ki-duk’s films. I used to count 3-IRON as a particular favorite. BAD GUY was one of the first films of his I saw, and the shock factor of it both confused and fascinated me.
For a long time I felt that his presence in Korean cinema was deeply notable and remarkable because he was so different from his college-educated, middle/upper-middle class Korean New Wave peers, and I felt that his lack of degree was a factor in his aloofness from the industry.
Those are complex issues. But it is difficult for me to view what happened 2017-2018 as “complex.” 3 different actresses gave interviews to an MBC news program testifying Kim Ki-duk sexually assaulted them. Their descriptions of Kim were corroborated by members of his own crew.
(Kim sued them for defamation, and lost just this past October.)
It is now difficult for me to view his films, especially BAD GUY and MOEBIUS. BAD GUY in particular. It’s about a pimp, played by Cho Jae-hyun kidnapping and raping a woman. One of the actresses said that Kim and Cho would alternate in visiting her room at night.
In 2002, the actress of BAD GUY gave a profoundly sad interview during the promo for the film, where she recounted how difficult filming was. The magazine published it with the headline, “The actress who hurt her soul making BAD GUY, Seo Won.”
The interviewer tried to frame Seo’s experience as a painful but unforgettable landmark for her acting career.
Seo Won was in exactly one TV drama after making BAD GUY, then quit acting altogether.
Seo Won was in exactly one TV drama after making BAD GUY, then quit acting altogether.
People can quote Death of the Author ad nauseum, but when a director makes a film about a pimp who kidnaps a young woman to be sexually assaulted & degraded, and is himself accused of serial sexual assault, all I see is his own filth packaged on film in the name of art house.
His name will still be part of many a Korean film syllabus, both for his contributions in art house and his films’ usage in the “Asia Extreme” category. But for me, his story will prob be used as a case study in Korean film industry chauvinism, misogyny, and power dynamics.
For clarity
- Kim Ki-duk was accused by 3 different women of sexual assault, who gave interviews to a news program under anonymity
- Kim and Cho collaborated on multiple films
- The only actress who was associated with a specific film said it was MOEBIUS; she didn't get the role
- Kim Ki-duk was accused by 3 different women of sexual assault, who gave interviews to a news program under anonymity
- Kim and Cho collaborated on multiple films
- The only actress who was associated with a specific film said it was MOEBIUS; she didn't get the role
