The Collaborator Mesmerized by a Nationalist: The Narrative Configuration of Nationalism and Colonial Modernity in the South Korean Film, "Modern Boy" (2008)

Abstract

In this paper, I will examine the trope of the conflicting voices of nationalism and colonial modernity that are articulated in the narrative of the Korean film "Modern Boy," released in 2008 in South Korea. The reconstruction of Kyŏngsŏng (Seoul in Contemporary Korea) under Japanese colonial rule as a modern urban city is paralleled with Japanese surveillance and oppression over the Korean people who were seen as a possible threat. These conflicting tropes are expressed narratively through a love affair between a nationalist and a Japanese collaborator, in that the voice of the female character as a militant independent fighter competes with and contests the voice of the male character as a Japanese collaborator, which highlights the stability and happiness of the independent individual life. Modernity is the common denominator determining the two main characters’ identities, but they have not completely embraced or been subsumed by either nationalism or collaboration.