[Essay Today] V for Vendetta

Park Chang-jin, head of the Korean Air Employees Solidarity Branch of the Korean Public Service and Transport Workers' Union under the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions, declared his candidacy for the Justice Party proportional representation primary on the 22nd at the National Assembly Press Hall in Yeouido, Seoul. At this event, he performed wearing the 'V for Vendetta mask' on his face. The mask is familiar. We saw that mask at the protest rally against the Korean Air owner's 'gapjil' (abuse of power) held in Gwanghwamun on May 14, 2018. We also saw that mask during the anti-government protests in Ecuador on April 16 last year, the Palestinian protests in the Gaza Strip, Israel on November 1, the protests by Hong Kong Polytechnic University students against the Hong Kong government's 'Extradition Bill' on the 5th of the same month, and the march of one million demonstrators demanding Catalonia's independence in Spain on the same day.

'V for Vendetta' is a comic. It was written by Alan Moore and illustrated by David Lloyd. The protagonist is 'V,' an anarchist who initiates a revolution to overthrow a totalitarian government. The setting is a dystopian United Kingdom in the 1980s to 1990s. Vendetta refers to a bloody confrontation aimed at ultimately destroying the object of hatred. (Kim Nak-ho) A dystopia is a community or society opposite to a utopia, usually oppressed by a totalitarian government. In the comic, the UK, destroyed by nuclear war, is ruled by fascists. V, disguised as Guy Fawkes, carries out a sophisticated and violent plan to overthrow the regime.

We are more familiar with the movie than the comic. Directed by James McTeigue and produced by Joel Silver and the Wachowski siblings, it was released under the same title on March 17, 2006. It stars Hugo Weaving, Natalie Portman, John Hurt, and Stephen Rea. The protagonist wears a mask with a mischievous expression that looks like smiling, crying, or staring intently. He never shows his real face. The number of viewers in Korea, as aggregated by various portals, did not exceed 500,000. However, it was commercially successful worldwide, earning over $132 million (approximately 155.628 billion KRW). It can be frequently seen on online platforms or cable TV channels.

Originally, the film was scheduled to be released on November 4, 2005, the eve of the 400th 'Guy Fawkes Night.' Guy Fawkes Night is an annual event in the UK held every November 5 to commemorate the failure of the 'Gunpowder Plot.' The Gunpowder Plot was an attempt by Guy Fawkes and other English Catholics to blow up the Parliament and assassinate King James I and his ministers. It took place on November 5, 1605. Fawkes was arrested after being betrayed, imprisoned in the Tower of London, tortured, and on this day in 1606, he was subjected to the gruesome punishment of hanging, drawing, and quartering. This involved hanging until near death, disembowelment while still alive, removal of eyes and heart, and then being tied to a horse and dragged around.

Londoners celebrated the king's survival by lighting bonfires, calling it "a joyful token of safety from any danger or disturbance." Thus began Guy Fawkes Night. Since 1673, effigies dressed as the Pope have been burned, and nowadays, most often effigies of Guy Fawkes are burned. The effigy is named 'Guy.' Usually, children make it by stuffing old clothes and newspapers to form the body and putting a 'mask' on it. Because of this, in 19th-century English, 'guy' meant a person dressed in old clothes. This term crossed over to America, gradually changing in meaning to refer to a male person.

Heo Jin-seok, poet and professor at Korea National Sport University