"A World Where Both Martial Law and Resistance Are Called 'Patriotism'?Uncannily Similar to 50 Years Ago" [Limelight]

'Made in Korea' Director Woo Minho
"Hyun Bin's Pledge to the Flag Reveals the Face of Barbarism"
"Season 2 Will Be a Catastrophe, the Bill for Desire"

Disney+ 'Made in Korea' Still Cut

"When I watch the news these days, it feels like a mirror of the 1970s. Declaring martial law is called patriotism, and so is standing up against it. Each side clashes, claiming to act for the good of the nation. This chaos of patriotism is eerily identical now as it was 50 years ago."

For director Woo Minho, the 1970s and the 2020s reflect each other like mirrors. The Disney+ series "Made in Korea," following his films "The Drug King" and "The Man Standing Next," continues this thematic line. Through the conflict between Baek Kitae (played by Hyun Bin), the Central Intelligence Agency's intelligence chief, and the steadfast prosecutor Jang Geonyoung (played by Jung Woosung), the series incisively dissects the contradictions of an era where the state and justice collided.

During an interview at a cafe on Samcheong-ro in Jongno-gu, Seoul, on January 19, he responded to the question, "Why do you keep revisiting the 1970s?" by saying, "Because the key to unraveling today's contradictions is hidden in that era." He added, "The origin of the desires that afflict Korea today can be found right there."

For Woo, the 1970s are not just preserved black-and-white photographs. They represent the archetype of desire, where barbarity was condoned in the name of growth and a distorted belief emerged that worshipped results over process.

Director Woo Minho

That is why the title "Made in Korea" is layered with meaning. It stands both for the pride of an export-driven nation that soared in the 1970s, and for the painful stigma of the monster that this system gave birth to. Woo explained, "The brighter the light, the darker the shadow," and defined, "Baek Kitae, the drug dealer, is himself the very embodiment of 'Made in Korea' created by Korean society."

The 1970s as depicted by Woo is an era where state power turns a blind eye to drug trafficking from behind the scenes, and criminals brazenly call their greed 'patriotism.' This chilling contradiction is laid bare through Baek Kitae's shameless sophistry: "It's all for the good of the country." It is at this point that Woo sees a reflection of present-day Korea.

"Whether conservative or progressive, the art of disguising personal interests as the national interest was perfected then. That deformed belief seems to have crossed fifty years to create today's social conflicts."

The peak of this madness is brought to life by the actors' performances. In particular, the scene at the end of Season 1, where Baek Kitae pledges allegiance to the flag and smokes a cigar, was an unscripted, spontaneous suggestion. Hyun Bin instinctively seized this unexpected idea, chillingly sculpting the raw face of a monster intoxicated by desire. All guilt is erased, leaving only the euphoria of having accomplished the task. Woo recalled, "When he saluted while gazing at the president's portrait, I was struck. That expression itself embodied the barbaric era."

Disney+ 'Made in Korea' Still Cut

In contrast, Jang Geonyoung, played by Jung Woosung, is a Don Quixote who keeps his eyes open and stands tall while everyone else staggers, drunk on desire. He takes on a hopeless fight against the windmill of overwhelming power. Woo interprets this reckless charge as "the loneliest and most desperate struggle to break through a barbaric era where reason holds no sway."

The story has not yet reached its conclusion. Season 2, currently in production, will serve as the inevitable "bill" that arrives after the feast of desire. Set in 1979, the year of former President Park Chunghee's assassination and the 12·12 military coup, it will depict the catastrophic derailment of the train of desire.

Woo remarked, "There is no such thing as a free lunch. The villains who reveled in dopamine in Season 1 will pay a harsh price in Season 2." Yet he added with a bitter smile, "The night of dictatorship may be over, but the night of desire remains." It was a moment when the fifty-year gap seemed meaningless.