Alright, let's get the basics out of the way
In 1978, famous South Korean director Shin Sang-ok
And his wife Choi Eun-hee
Were abducted by the North Korean government
For the next 8 years
They were forced to make propaganda films
Until 1986, when they managed to escape to the US
One such propaganda film is 1985's Pulgasari
A giant monster film, produced by Kim Jong-il
And made with help from Toho
The Japanese company that made Godzilla
With this knowledge, today, we'll do some basic film analysis
We'll look into the story and it's metaphor
I'll offer 3 different interpretations of the film
And you tell me if they stands up to scrutiny
Let's get started
First, a quick recap of the film
The film begins with this young girl getting water from the well
And every man in the blacksmith village is way too excited
We are quickly introduced to the three main characters
The blacksmith
His daughter, Ami
And Ami's boyfriend, Inde
Who's also the leader of the bandit army
Why bandits, you ask?
Because their governor looks like this!
The governor pays the village a visit
Commissioning a large quantity of iron weapons
Where to find a large stack of iron?
Snatch the farming tools from the peasants, obviously
What, you mean this man is evil?
Being the good man he is
The blacksmith returns all the tools to the people
Which gets him imprisoned
Starving, The blacksmith prays to heaven and earth with his dying breath
Hoping the legendary monster, Pulgasari, can save the people
With a drop of blood from Ami
A blood bond is formed
The little Pulgasari comes to life
With every bite of iron consumed
Pulgasari grows bigger
And it joins the bandit rebellion against the governor and the tyrannical king
It's really funny watching this human sized Godzilla walking into battle
But it doesn't stay funny for long
Because after winning their first battle
Pulgasari grows into a giant rear screen projection
Battle after battle
The rebellion and Pulgasari topples the monarchy
Literally
And the people are free, right?
With its insatiable appetite for iron
People needs to keep feeding Pulgasari
To a point where they have to offer their iron farming tools
Oh the IRON-y
At the end, Ami has to sacrifice herself
To end her blood tie with Pulgasari
And Pulgasari crumbles to dusts
So, what makes this a propaganda film?
To understand the meaning of the film
We first must understand that
Nearly everything included in a film is a decision
From the books in the background
To the way a character moves
And every decision is a chance to encode a message
Trust me, artists can't resist adding meanings to things
For better or for worse
Let's go over the most surface level message
Pulgasari appears to be a film about anti-Monarchy
Anti-Feudalism
And anti-bourgeois
The heroic faction comprises of farmers and workers
In addition, they are also an army of bandits
This draws parallel to the communist guerrilla warfare
That helped established North Korea as a country
People live under the oppression of the rich
Rise up and topple the Monarchy
Glory to the proletariat, right?
At this point, many of you are already asking
What about Pulgasari?
What does it represent?
What about the ending that throws a wrench into things?
The ending of Pulgasari turning against the people
has sparked many discussion on its significance over the years
Some say it represents Capitalism
How capitalism can free you
but can also enslave you
I find that explanation farfetched
It is simply very unlikely for a communist propaganda film to humanize capitalism
When sharper alternatives are always available
Keep this ending in mind, however
As we'll come back to it
Anyway, here is my interpretation:
Pulgasari's defining trait is the consumption of iron
Not meat, or grain
Just iron
Essentially, Pulgasari is an industrial monster that helps the farmers
For this reason, I think Pulgasari represents North Korea's friendly iron giant ally
The Soviet Union
It was an industrial superpower
It shared the same ideology as North Korea, sort of
It helped established North Korea as a monarch free country
And most importantly
In the 1980s, the USSR began forming friendlier relations with South Korea
An act that worsened their tie with the North
In other words, the giant can no longer be relied upon
And the people of North Korean must forge their own path forward
With the tie between North Korea and its ally dead
The essence of communism lives soly in North Korea
It must fully embrace the state ideology of "Juche"
Or, in English, "self-reliance"
Let's go back to the ending for a bit
Pulgasari turning against its own people
may share some similarities with their Soviet relation at the time
but there is a much better parallel that can be drawn here
North Korea's leader, Kim Il-sung
Becoming its people's worst enemy
It's a popular reading
Considering the director is from South Korea
Being Kidnapped
While witnessing the brutal reality of North Korea first hand
It isn't unlikely for him to want to criticizes the regime in secret
Based on this, here is my second interpretation:
In this interpretation
The farmers are the civilians of North Korea
And they are conducting guerrilla warfare against an industrialized enemy
Who uses missiles and cannons
How did they get these industrial weapons?
By industrializing Korea, of course.
I'm talking about Japan
From 1910 to 1945, Korea was under Japanese occupation
And North Korea was founded, not against a monarchy
but against Imperial Japan
During this time, rebel forces often hid in the mountains
Much like the bandits in the film
Among these forces, is the eventual first supreme leader, Kim Il-sung
With the leadership from Kim Il-Sung
The people of North Korea were liberated
Only to find themselves under the dictatorship of their leader
who now lived a life of luxury
People continued to pay him for protection
Not realizing how much they were suffering
The film ends as a sort of wake up call
Where Ami tells people of North Korea
That their ally has turned into their own enemy
Pulgasari may be strong
But it cannot live without its people
For our third and final interpretation
Let's shift our focus to the antagonist
Specifically, the governor
Why a governor?
If the film intends on being anti-feudalism
A nobleman would be a better choice
And if the film wants to be anti-bourgeois
A landlord or a business tycoon are the obvious choices
A governor, while likely to be a noble, is primarily a government position
And what does this government want?
Not food, not higher taxes
Using people's iron to make weapons
Very specific, don't you think?
It is for this reason
I think the monarchy in the film represents the North Korean dictatorship
And the film is criticising the Songun policy
The North Korean policy that puts military first
While officially, the Songun era didn't begin until 1994
The country has been a big military spender since the 60s
With all the money spent on military
People of North Korea are left starving
In this context, the film becomes a cautionary tale
About a hypothetical revolution
Where the government of North Korea is toppled
With the help of an unspecified force
It can be the U.S., backing the rebellion
Or it can be an internal coup.
Either way, the film warns us that even if the government is toppled over
A new tyrant may appear from within
Or another country may occupy North Korea
When actually watching the film
With its rubber-suit monsters
Most people don't take it seriously
To many, the charm of the "North Korean Godzilla" lies within its absurd concept
And fascinating backstories
The film itself, is little more than a novelty entertainment
But films are rarely, if ever, just entertainment
"Have you tried... Not being a mutant?"
There are always cultural, political and social messages hidden in films
Sometimes the filmmakers encode them
"No, no, no, fuck that."
"You don't have to give him your ID, 'cause you haven't done anything wrong"
Sometimes, the filmmaking process is affected by the culture around it
That makes Pulgasari a film worth watching
And definitely worth talking about.
But what do you think?
Which interpretation do you find the most convincing?
Let's talk, down in the comment section