“Divergent” is a 2014 dystopian science fiction film based on Veronica Roth’s novel of the same title. This futuristic movie is set in Chicago, where five factions divide society: Abnegation, Amity, Candor, Dauntless and Erudite. Those who do not belong to a faction are Factionless -- outsiders who do not have social status and privileges. In addition, there are the Divergent who exhibit attributes of multiple factions and thus can integrate into any faction. That is, a Diverge

Viewpoints Dec. 3, 2019

Kim Young-ha’s celebrated novel, “Your Republic Is Calling You,” is an account of a North Korean spy named Ki-yong who has lived in South Korea since the mid-1980s with no contact from the North. Cut off from the North for such a long time, he assumes that the North Korean government has completely forgotten him in the vortex of its shifts of power. Meanwhile, Ki-yong has become so accustomed to South Korean society and a lifestyle marked by capitalism and liberalism that he ca

Viewpoints Nov. 26, 2019

Movies and television dramas are excellent social documents in that they faithfully reflect societal change and the alteration of consciousness throughout history. Sometimes they illuminate us with profound insights into and powerful criticisms of contemporary society. Since films and TV shows enjoy enormous popularity, their impact is huge, more widespread and more powerful than traditional literature. The celebrated HBO series “Game of Thrones” is a good example. In the eighth and

Viewpoints Nov. 19, 2019

The Ottoman Empire, which was founded in the late 13th century and thrived for more than 600 years, resembled the Roman Empire in the sense that it was a vast imperial enterprise that encompassed three regions: Western Asia, Southeast Europe and North Africa. Although it was a Muslim country, the Ottoman Empire embraced diverse religions and cultures such as Islam, Christianity and Judaism, which coexisted peacefully.As Rhie Won-bok writes in his graphic narrative “The Ottoman Empire and T

Viewpoints Nov. 5, 2019

George Orwell’s “Animal Farm” is widely known as a satirical fable of the Russian Revolution of 1917. Although he was a democratic socialist himself, Orwell was deeply disillusioned by Stalin and communism, because in his eyes the Soviet Union hopelessly degenerated into a ruthless tyranny, a reign of terror and a cult of personality that worshipped its leader.Written in 1945, “Animal Farm” has become a classic today, frequently quoted when people criticize the hypo

Viewpoints Oct. 29, 2019

Recently, I watched the 2012 Hollywood science fiction action film “Battleship,” which was about an alien invasion and the US Navy’s desperate attempts to stop it. While watching the film, two things caught my attention: The movie was set in Honolulu and it depicted friendship between the US and Japan. Then, it occurred to me that perhaps “Battleship” could be a metaphoric reenactment of the Pearl Harbor surprise attack by Japan in 1941, which ignited the Pacific Wa

Viewpoints Oct. 22, 2019

Today we live in a violent world. Every day, war and terrorism are exterminating human lives somewhere on this planet. In advanced countries, violence is not tolerated, and is strictly prohibited by law. In many underdeveloped countries, however, violence is so rampant and omnipresent that people have no other choice than to live with it. Violence takes many forms. Some forms of violence are visible and obvious, and others are invisible, subtle, or inconspicuous. Experts say there are four

Viewpoints Oct. 15, 2019

In his epoch-making short story, “Seoul: Winter 1964,” novelist Kim Seung-ok brilliantly renders the bleak landscape of Seoul in the mid-Sixties when Koreans had to suffer the ruthless military dictatorship and dehumanization caused by rapid industrialization. At that time, people had to struggle with a suffocating reality every day, embedded with tyranny and poverty. So people liked to drop by a street liquor stall, warming up their bodies with alcohol, and tried to forget their mis

Viewpoints Oct. 8, 2019

When I returned to Seoul from New York City to join the faculty of Seoul National University in the early 1980s, South Korea was sharply divided into two mutually antagonizing factions: anti-government left-wing political activists and pro-government right-wing supporters, radicals and conservatives, socialists and. capitalists. In academia and the literary community, scholars and writers were also divided into two factions: national literature and world literature, socially engaged literature a

Viewpoints Sept. 24, 2019

Many people enjoy the “Terminator” film series because the action-packed futuristic science fiction films are fun to watch, thanks to breathtaking action, time travel and enthralling cutting-edge technologies. But there is much more to the series than such visual pleasures. “The Terminator” and its sequels also provide valuable lessons and “post-humanist” hindsight in this era of nuclear weapons that can annihilate human civilization in a flash. The movie espe

Viewpoints Sept. 17, 2019

Recently, I came across a book by Lee Seog-yeon, a famous Korean lawyer and civil rights activist, entitled “Sima Qian’s Korea Travelogue.” Sima Qian was a legendary Chinese historian of the Han Dynasty (206 BC to AD 220) who wrote the celebrated book “Records of the Grand Historian,” compiling Chinese history covering approximately 2,000 years. In his intriguing book, Lee, the Korean lawyer, perceives and interprets modern Korea through the eyes of Sima Qian, who e

Viewpoints Sept. 10, 2019

There are many funny street names in the Unisted States. Some reflect positive nuance and idiosyncrasy, while others sound negative and weird. Google provides a host of funny street or road names in America. Some funny names include Frying Pan Road in Virginia, Roast Meat Street in Connecticut, Chicken Dinner Road in Idaho and North Sandwich Street in New Hampshire. Other amusing names are Anyhow Road in New York, Pillow Talk Court in Las Vegas and Billy Goat Strut Alley in Kentucky. There are s

Viewpoints Sept. 3, 2019

Although the famous maxim says “Seeing is believing,” it is amazing how many precious things in life are, in fact, invisible. Take air, for example. Without air, we cannot survive and will die in a few minutes, yet we take it for granted because it is invisible. If something is not visible, we forget about it and do not appreciate it fully. Not only is air invisible, but so is wind. We enjoy a pleasant cool breeze, but we cannot see it. “Who has seen the wind?” British po

Viewpoints Aug. 27, 2019

Koreans are known to be people of “jeong” or affection. However, many Koreans do not seem to be thoughtful or considerate. Perhaps jeong does not encompass thoughtfulness or caring about others. Nevertheless, it is necessary to put yourself in another person’s shoes. In the novel “To Kill a Mockingbird,” Harper Lee writes, “You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view. Until you climb inside of his skin and walk around

Viewpoints Aug. 20, 2019

Proverbs and maxims reflect the society from which they originate. Thus they vary depending on the peculiarities of nations, cultures and civilizations. If you are familiar with a certain nation’s proverbs, therefore, you can easily conjecture about the characteristics of the people of the country. Watching recent social and political disruptions of Korea these days, one can be reminded of Korean maxims that nicely match these situations.Among others, the famous Korean proverb, “You

Viewpoints Aug. 13, 2019