[The Second Take] Inequality Divides Even the Same Colors

Apartments as the Main Setting of "Chorokbam":
A Deep Green Hue Cast Over the Story
Exploring Inequality in Wealth, Income, and Living Standards
Driven by Real Estate Ownership

Security guard Jang Seong-geun (Lee Tae-hoon) patrols the apartment complex late at night. From somewhere, a sorrowful cat’s meow is heard. Listening carefully, he tiptoes toward the sound and finds a playground. A small cat is hanging by its neck on a rope tied to the horizontal bar. Jang Seong-geun digs a hole nearby and buries the corpse. After work, he grumbles to his wife (Kim Min-kyung) as she sets the breakfast table. "Who did this?", "Kids do things like that, you know. It was even on TV last time.", "People really have nothing better to do."

This is the opening sequence of the film Chorokbam (Green Night). Director Yoon Seo-jin deals with intimate stories happening to an ordinary family. Every conflict and scar involves an unexpected death. Jang Seong-geun feels empty while attending his father’s funeral. His sister and younger brother argue, accusing each other of coming just for the condolence money. When he tells his brother to "grow up," he is met with criticism. "Who do you think you are to say that to me? Do you know who this funeral is for?"

It’s a world where those with money make the loudest noise. Jang Seong-geun seems to have grown weary of this reality. Financial deprivation is a constant source of dissatisfaction for his wife. Even looking at the rows of high-rise apartments outside the car window makes her sigh automatically. "So many people don’t have homes, but who do you think lives in all those places? The apartment we bought before must have gone up a lot by now, right?" Their son Jang Won-hyeong (Kang Gil-woo) is used to his mother’s complaints. Poverty is inherited, and marriage is just a dream. He drifts from motel to motel with his long-time girlfriend.

The main setting of Chorokbam is real estate, including apartments. In South Korea, it causes inequality in wealth, income, and living standards. Value appreciation for owners is capital gain, which is not taxed. Net assets increase, and consumption rises as a side effect. On the other hand, those without real estate struggle to maintain their current state as landlords demand higher rents in the rental market. The dividing line between those who own homes and those who do not continues to widen.

This dynamic has persisted over the past decade. It is especially evident among people in their 20s and 30s like Jang Won-hyeong. As housing prices rise and the gap between housing costs and income widens, the cost of homeownership becomes absurdly high. Chorokbam also looks beyond the city to rural areas. Jang Seong-geun inherits the house where his father lived. There, his father’s secret mistress resides. Suddenly, the Jang family’s position is reversed compared to the city. "I won’t take long. We put the house on the market. Now you should go where the rest of the family is and live comfortably. You have your father’s ID and the national merit pension bankbook, right? Please bring those along with the seal."

Inheritance is a major cause of wealth inequality. The group with the highest homeownership rate is people in their 40s to 60s. Although they are not yet at the age to pass it on to the next generation, it will happen eventually. The Jang family is at that threshold, but their situation does not seem likely to change drastically. The inherited house is in a remote rural area, but they witness another death and realize the loss of humanity. It is useless to blame themselves or feel sorrow.

The world is still a green night. The green of trees and leaves is hidden by darkness, losing its vitality. It is bleak and gloomy, even eerie. This is not their world alone. The green surrounding us may deepen at any time. Into darkness, aging, and death...