The Cultural Rule During the Japanese Occupation

2008 film “Radio Dayz” by Ha Ki-ho is a movie that shows the establishment of the broadcasting station in Seoul during the colonial period; in addition, it’s a fiction about the first Korean radio series. The telecommunication of Korea in the early 1930s is important because Kyungseong (Seoul) Broadcasting System was first established in 1927 following the establishment of the Japanese broadcasting in 1926 (Robinson 54). The movie quite accurately depicts the radio broadcasting in Korea during the Japanese occupation. KBC has the bilingual broadcasting system in Korean and Japanese as it is shown in the movie. In the movie, the Japanese official mentions that it is time for the Korean language broadcasting. The historical context is important in this film because it was a transitioning period from the Japanese military rule to the cultural rule (Robinson 54). This is actually obvious when the Japanese Bureau Chief of the Broadcasting in the movie mentions that the listeners should naturally be indoctrinated to understand the Japanese imperialism and the grandiose Japanese emperorship by listening to radio shows. Also, the film depicts that the Japanese practices a censorship over the broadcasting. At the very end, Lloyd, the director of the radio series is told to finish the final episode that contains the Japanese nationalist propaganda. If not, the transmitter will be shut down. Though the fight between the Korean broadcasting staff and the Japanese soldiers was comically filmed, yet it is merely a satirical element to criticize the Japanese cultural assimilation.

On the other hand, another interesting aspect of the movie is the transformation of the Korean nationalists from extreme to moderate. As previously mentioned, the Japanese decided to shift from the policy of the military rule to the cultural rule; the Korean nationalists also shifted their strategy from extreme to moderate. The Korean nationalists started to consider taking advantage of mass communication such as newspapers or broadcasting so they could share the notion of Korean independence. It was almost as if it is a parallel confrontation between Japan and Korea. In the film, K’s character change is worth noting because he changes from the extremist nationalist to the moderate nationalist. Though at the end, the character evokes his old identity as the extremist, yet how he perceives the radio changes rapidly from the beginning to the end of the movie.

Tradition vs Modernity

The Korean comedy film YMCA Baseball Team, directed by Kim Hyun-seok, has many instances and scenes that portray modernity in a positive light.  One thing to note firsthand is that the modernization that is featured in this film starkly contrasts to the film screened the past weeks.  The past two films had a strong Japanese presence pertaining to the notion of modernity but in this film, the American presence stood out more not to mention baseball being a western sport.  While the Japanese presence remained as an antagonist throughout the film, the American influence was more subtle than I expected.  Their overall contribution to modernization could be almost described as analogous to the clockmaker’s theory where they just keep a backseat position throughout film despite being the main cause of the baseball team.  There is a more welcoming atmosphere to change despite the resistance of modernizing under the pretense of Japanese presence at the time.  The question arises whether modernization is analogous to westernization in this context and what the impact of that is.      

The second thing to note is how the genre of comedy plays out to present the conflict between modernization and maintaining traditional values.  Yi Ho-chang, the protagonist of the film, is the son of a scholar and his pursuit of baseball puts him in a parallax position where he is not “primitive” or completely “modernized”.  In an early scene where Yi Ho-chang discovers baseball, humour is promoted through Yi Ho-chang’s awkward introduction to the sport where an American gentleman kindly instructs him to not kick but to throw the ball.  Yi Ho-chang is portrayed as more primitive or bestial in contrast to the American gentleman in this particular humorous scene so one could ponder whether it is something completely safe to simply laugh off.  One could also say that the genre helps promote a better image of modernity to the audience in a more lighthearted manner that was not seen in the past two films. 

Lenin Amaya

Parallel between YMCA Baseball Team and Korean Minjok/Minjong Nationalism

The comedy film, YMCA Baseball Team, is one of those “feel-good” movies that makes your day better, especially better if you do love Korea and her people from the bottom of your heart and you dream of one unified Korea. I can surely watch the scene of Korean minjok/minjung victory in the rematch against Japanese colonial officers over and over. United Koreans, at the end, overcome a foreign influence of colonialism. Koreans are unified!

In the film, during the critical moment of Korean history and destiny, when Korea becomes the protectorate of Japan after the signing of the Eulsa Treaty in 1905, a diverse group of Koreans from yangban to chonmin backgrounds discovers baseball, a new Western sport, and joins the first baseball team in Korea called YMCA Baseball Team.

The creation of YMCA Baseball Team, organized by Min Jong-rim, a female coach educated in the West, parallels the development of Korean nationalism, minjok, a modern construct (337). According to Carter Eckert, before the late 19^th century, “there was little, if any, feeling of loyalty toward the abstract concept of “Korea” as a nation state, or toward fellow inhabitants of the peninsula as “Koreans” and Korean people did have stronger  “attachments to their village or region, and above all to their clan, lineage, and immediate and extended family” (338). However because of Japanese colonialism at bay, Korean political activists and intellectuals from the independence movements desired and envisioned Korea’s collective identity in terms of a “deep, horizontal comradeship” regardless of the actual divisions and inequalities that prevailed in Korean society (339). Furthermore, Korean nationalists started to view Koreans as a unique ethnic group not as yangban, commoners, and base people (342).

In the movie, baseball is the source of unity and “One Korea.” It brings people from different hierarchies of the Choson Dyansty and transforms them into one Korean Team. Lee Ho-chang , the main character, is a son of a yangban scholar. Oh Dae-hyeon and Min are from Korean elites educated outside of Korea; they are nationalists and members of the Anti-Eulsa League, an organization formed in protest of the Five Eulsa Traitors. Ryu Kwang-tae, is a son of the Choson official whose father is part of the Five Eulsa Traitors. Ma Seong-han is a former servant of the chonmin background while Lee-Eun is an artisan, a commoner. Without the introduction of baseball and the desire to win the rematch against Japan (Korean nationalism), these characters would not be part of a cohesive group, but would continue living their own separate traditional lifestyles.  In addition, the team spirit of baseball (force of nationalism) left me speechless because even though Oh and Ryu became enemies because Oh tried to assassinate Ryu’s father, in the rematch, they apologized, forgave each other, and worked as a team in order to defeat the Japanese.

Just as film characters became one team through baseball, descendants of yangban, commoners, and chonmin became today’s Korean ethnic group under the banner of Korean nationalism. But a series of questions that came to my mind is “Are modern Koreans really a single, unified, “homogenous” group in the Korean nation state? Isn’t there a still strong regionalism in South Korea where names of political leaders such as Park Chung-hee and Kim Dae Jung ignite such political controversies and different emotional responses for people of different regions? Do Korean nationalists consider overseas Koreans, mixed people such as children of American GIs and South Asian wives, and North Korean defectors, part of their “KOREAN MINJOK/MINJONG”?

Japanese Occupation in Korea

Japanese occupation in Korea was characterized by the interest in maintaining control in Korea and their attempts to prohibit any possibility of uprising or resistance by the Korean people. Japanese subverted Korean youths and women to prefer foreign and more modern sentiments (as it is shown in YMCA Baseball Team and Yoo’s study) with the help of pro-Japanese collaborators. All the authors deal with the issue of struggle between traditional Korean values and culture and the new influences on them.

YMCA Baseball Team, a semi-historical film, comically interprets the historical events of the first Korean baseball team in 1905. The events taking place prior to the movie indicate how Japan has occupied Korea and influenced youths. Many Koreans went to study in Tokyo as it is represented by the few characters of the film. YMCA Western missionaries collude with the Japanese in order to replace traditional Korean values by Japanese values and customs through indoctrination of Korean youths.

In his study “The “New Woman” and the Politics of Love, Marriage, and Divorce in Colonial Korea,” Yoo examines the way of radical transformation of “Korean woman” concept during the years of Japanese occupation. Not all Korean women supported the dictates of colonial Japan; some of them distinguished between the definition of “modern” (for instance, Western outfits) as legitimate and “Japanese” as illegitimate. Thus, the experience of these Korean women can be seen as unique due to the dual confrontation with colonial power of Japan and modernity itself.

In his study “Form of Existence and Structural Character of Pro-Japanese Collaborators in Korean History,” Seo examines the history of modern Korea through the lenses of nationalism.  The chapter critically questios the political abuses and uses of nationalism by Korean ruling elites. The author does not blame those Koreans who held positive views about Japan; he states that pro-Japanese collaborators were those who “engaged in anti-national activities” (Seo, p. 90) and thus abused national interests.

Seo, Yoo and Kim Hyun-seok deal with the issue of struggle between traditional Korean values and culture and the new influences on them. Korean youths, women and elite has changed under the impact of Japanese and Western cultures. As a result, the face of Korea has become different.

The attractiveness of modernity in YMCA Baseball Team

While Epitaph and Blue Swallow showed a lot of the “darker” side of modernity and colonization of Korea, YMCA Baseball Team approaches the subject on a much lighter note, representing this era of rapid change as something almost cheerful, with many attractive qualities. Of course, there is tension in the film between the Japanese and Koreans, with examples of rebellion against the Eulsa treaty and resentment over the Japanese military presence, but there are also many things that suggest the “Westernization” of Korea as something appealing. The most obvious example is that it is foreign American missionaries who teach baseball to the Korean characters, helped along by the well-travelled, English-speaking Min Jong-rim. Somewhat ironically, some the Korean baseball players actively fight Japanese imperialism while at the same time dedicating themselves to celebrating and playing an American sport, the first in the country to do so.

Min Jong-rim herself embodies some of the attractiveness of modernity in her knowledge of the world, which dazzles her admirer, Lee Ho-Chang. She studied in America and has traveled places like Paris, which make her enticing to Ho-Chang, whose ignorance of such global experience makes him look ignorant and childish. Having Min Jong-rim as Ho-Chang’s love interest symbolizes his interest and intrigue of the Westernization that Japanese imperialism is in the process of bringing to Korea, and emphasizes his transition from traditional scholar-figure to symbol of a new type of Korea that has room for Western influences like baseball. Like the colonizer-colonized relationship, Jong-rim is there to teach Ho-Chang and the others, the one with the power and knowledge that they require.  In a way, Jong-rim symbolizes the already-transformed Korean woman, one who has kicked off the dust of pre-colonial Korea and has made something of herself. Ho-Chang, among others, must also learn to occupy such a space in order to flourish as members of a country that is in the midst of rapid change.

Comedy...? And National Pride

Kim Hyun-Syeok's 2002 film YMCA Baseball Team stands in stark contrast to the films we've watched previously in class--particularly because of its genre; it is technically considered a comedy. The film features American-inspired slapstick comedy, but also gets much of its humor from another source: In the beginning, Lee Ho-chang discovers baseball in a very comedic sequence of events, picking up the ball with an overly-animated face, snooping around someone's yard in a dramatic and elongated shot, etc. However goofy, the scenes are also uncomfortable; we are making a spectacle of a person who is "discovering modernity" and "western life" in a way so over-the-top that it is almost satirical. The style of filming and the humor lead us to feel as if we are watching someone from another planet discover earth and ultimately become 'civilized.' Something about it felt unfair and uncomfortable.

Secondly, it is interesting to notice the ways in which the film could be considered a meeting point of the "traditional" Korean life and values and the "modern," globalized world. Lee Ho-chang himself perhaps best epitomizes this intersection: he is destined to take over his father's academic life as a school owner (traditional job), but loses interest when he discovers baseball--a sport introduced to him by new American neighbors. Here, Ho-chang's two very different life path options are a clear analogy to "resisting" modernization and "accepting" it.

Something that interested me in particular was a sort of watchmaker role on the part of the American baseball players. They introduce the sport, invite the native Koreans to participate, and then step back--watching it all unfold from a distance. After the Americans' first interactions with the Koreans, there was little interference from them. The baseball team excels on their own, ultimately using their skill to battle the neighboring Japan in a dramatic game. Here, baseball has transitioned from a symbol of foreign modernity to a means of expressing national pride.

[YMCA Baseball Team]

       

       The film YMCA Baseball Team, directed by Kim Hyun-seok in 2002, introduces Choseon’s first baseball team in the early 1900s (based on a real story). It is also the period when Japan was colonizing Korea; more specifically, 1905 is the year the Japan-Korea Treaty (Eulsa Treaty) was signed. (“The treaty deprived Korea of its diplomatic sovereignty and made Korea a protectorate of Japan” Wikipedia)

 

Although it is mentioned in H.H.Em’s work that the concept of “the collective ‘self’” (336) existed before the term minjok was introduced in Korea, “the Kingdom of “unified” Silla, Koryo, and Choson” did not put much effort in nationalizing its people (338). In fact, the reading explains the importance of nationalizing the subjects was emphasized with the start of Japanese colonialism period (339). During the colonial period, divisions among people existed: pro-Japanese collaborators who welcomed Japanese power and those who fought against the colonial power, and the division that existed from social hierarchy. This can be seen in the movie, where Kwang-tae’s father is described as a “traitor of the country” for being a pro-Japanese collaborator. Tension exists between the people who mourn death of Jeong-rim’s father and pro-Japanese group (Kwang-tae’s father, the Japanese general and Japanese soldiers). Moreover, even if the official acknowledgement of social hierarchy was gone by 1905, the idea lingered within people’s mind. For instance, Byeong-hwan (yangban) looks down on Seong-han (chonmin) who once worked as a servant of his house. At first, Seong-han also treats him as his superior, calling him “young master” (doryeunnim). However, through the YMCA baseball team, the two become unified and work together for the team’s victory.

The use of sport as a means of unifying the people also reminded me of the 3S policy implemented by Chun Doo-hwan. By arousing interest in 3S fields (screen, sport, sex/speed), Chun was able to continue his dictatorship as a result of people’s ignorance in politics. Furthermore, the unification of Koreans brought on by the World Cup in 2002 was amazing. In the case of the film, the Koreans become integrated by forming the YMCA baseball team, and their victory against the Japanese team brings hope to all Koreans. 

Minjok in YMCA Baseball Team

I know I probably shouldn't be comparing the two, but YMCA Baseball Team was a breath of fresh compared to Blue Swallow air in terms of technical quality and overall plot. Personally the movie had a stronger sense of nationalism. There wasn't the same ambiguity that I associated with Blue Swallow. The sense of nationalism is stronger and more apparent, especially because of the final match between the Japanese troops and the beloved YMCA Koreans.
Considering Henry Em's article, there are many moments where Koreans stood as a united nation. Moments that were more 'new', that which was not done before, as was the case for 'minjok'. Minjok, as describe by Em, is a modern concept that did not emerge until around the time of Japanese occupation of Korea. Therefore, one of the first times that the Korean team stood up as a unified nation was when they came together as a force to be reckoned with, when they were an undefeated baseball team with people that came from a variety of backgrounds. Another moment was when the literate character chose to accept the baseball bat from the teammate of whom the literate teammate thought was of lower class, and with whom he tried to eliminate any associations. By letting down his guard about class and social rankings, the team was able to move on and continue to fight in their match against the Japanese. A third moment that demonstrated a unified Korea was when Kwangtae chose to move beyond what Daehyun did to his father, in order to help Daehyun and Jungrim escape for 'the greater good' for lack of better words. Not only that, it was a team effort. The escape was something put together elaborately by the whole team. The team managed not only to defeat the Japanese baseball team, but also helped the two escape. It goes to show how important minjok is to Koreans. Though it is a modern concept, minjok is a feeling that resonates deeply with Koreans. Unified Koreans, not only in terms of the Koreas, but also in terms of history, is something that drives Koreans to make sure that they aren't just known an people who were occupied by the Japanese. I think what is important to get out of this film is that through minjok Koreans fought to make themselves known.

YMCA bba-ssuball team

Not only was the movie YMCA baseball team one of the first Korean movies to discuss about baseball, but the YMCA baseball team itself was also an actual first ever baseball team in Korea, when baseball was first introduced to Korea as a tool to spread Christianity by American missionaries. At first, the sport was only an extremely foreign game that entertained the Koreans, however, soon this bba-ssuball game became another representation of patriotism where the Koreans, originally from different social classes(status distinction was abolished around this time) became unified and strove to win every game against the Japanese. Although winning in the games would not bring their country back, it was a form of speech where they indirectly yelled for and wanted freedom. While Shinjint’ae argues “minjok” may have did exist due to Korea’s quintessential character of court-centred, aristocratic states, the term minjok is a fairly modern term in which the concept of national identity was less intensified until the colonization of Japan. Thus, these social events such as baseball games allowed to strengthen “minjok” or the concept of national identity. Although baseball was first introduced to Japan in 1872 and to Korea in 1905, more than thirty years after Japan, and the Koreans lacked the equipments and skills in order to play well, the Korean baseball players did an exceptional job at the games, perhaps due to their desire for freedom(as well as their talent in the sport). While the Japanese imperial power was portrayed in a pejorative way, the western modernization and influence was depicted rather positively in the film. They had introduced a game, which eventually served as a form to represent patriotism of the people. Furthermore, instead of wearing hanbok, which Korean women have been wearing for eons until the introduction of westernization, Jeong lim wears western female dress attire, which implies her representation as a new woman. Thus, the coexistence of hanbok (traditional Korean attire) and western attire depicts the era in which westernization was occurring. The movie YMCA baseball was an entertaining movie in which it discerned a robust historical verification, and depicted the actual historical occurrence with the use of comic genre.

Ps. I found it quite interesting how SongKangho stares at the camera in both the endings in the movies “Memories of Murder” and “YMCA baseball team”. Actors rarely look into cameras in movies. What were the directors trying to imply? Did they have the same intentions?

YMCA Baseball Team

Firstly, I would like to start by saying how much I truly enjoyed this movie.  This is a movie at which I laughed out loud, and I love when movies have that power. The comedy of this film was also a refreshing tactic used to depict the colonial experience in Korea, especially in contrast with movies like Epitaph, which was anything but hilarious. In my opinion, the fact that the movie could be funny without detracting from the weight and seriousness of the issue at hand, the Japanese occupation, was impressive. 

Henry Em’s essay “Minjok as a Construct” approaches the matter of a Korean narrative, and raises questions like ‘when did Koreans become Korean?’ It is interesting to look at and interpret YMCA Baseball Team in these terms.  At the time of the movie (1905), did the Koreans feel like a nationalist unity was present? While it was clear by the end of the movie that Ho-chang and the rest of the team were united in baseball, were they united in a Korean national identity? Ho-chang was taught baseball, “America’s national pastime,” by American missionaries.

However, there were aspects of the movie in which Korean nationalism and resistance was evident. The scene(s) in which the Korean and Japanese baseball teams play each other are particular depictions of the coming together of the baseball team not just as teammates but as Koreans.  Also, there is reference to Ryu Kwang-Tae’s father as being one of the Five Eulsa Traitors, a group of officials who signed the Eulsa Treaty of 1905, making Korea a protectorate of Japan. This was a clear betrayal as seen by the other characters, specifically Min Jungrim and Oh Dae-Hyeok who were members of the Anti-Eulsa League, a group formed to object the Five Eulsa Traitors. In these aspects, there was a clear Korean identity. However, the unity of the baseball team overpowered the hatred of the Five Eulsa Traitors, which became evident when Oh Dae-Hyeok couldn’t bring himself to harm Ryu Kwang-Tae’s father and spared his life. 

The Emergence of Korean Unity

In Henry Em’s, “Minjok as a Modern and Democratic Construct: Sin Ch’aeho’s Historiography,” he talks about how the concept of Korean national identity is a fairly modern construct and that before the 19^th century, there was no sense of unity or loyalty among the people who lived in Korea regarding their state or each other. (338) It was not until Korea was conquered by Japan that the idea of nationalism was created because for:

Organizing movements for independence, self-strengthening-and people's rights, [...] intellectuals re-imagined Korea's collective identity in terms of a "deep, horizontal comradeship" - regardless of, or because of, the actual divisions and inequalities that prevailed in Korean society. (Em, 339)

This transition from identification by class to identification by national pride is exemplified in one of the last scenes of YMCA Baseball Team (2002).

Throughout the movie, the YCMA baseball team is considered the best in all of Korea and remain undefeated until they go against the Japanese soldiers. The key scene is in the two teams’ rematch. Jeong Byeong-Hwan (Kim Il-Woong) breaks his bat and goes to get another one from the bucket. He finds all of them unsuitable and eventually accepts the bat of his teammate, Ma Seong-Han (Lee Dae-Yeon). This in itself is a great show of teamwork, but there is so much more meaning in the gesture once one looks back at the rest of the movie. When all the members first gathered, Seong-Han ran up to Byeong-Hwan, his previous employer, to greet him. In response, Byeong-Hwan completely dismissed him because Seong-Han was but a lowly servant to him. This trend follows as Byeong-Hwan refuses to catch the ball that Seong-Han throws at him, saying that he could never work with someone who was of such low class. This came to a climax when the YCMA baseball team lost their first match against Japan, and Seong-Han finally yelled at Byeong-Hwan saying that class discrimination had ended long ago, so there was no reason for him to be so hostile. Then Byeong-Hwan asserted that he would always be above Seong-Han and walked off. The next time they see each other is that the rematch where Byeong-Hwan accepts the bat from Seong-Han despite having other choices, finally breaking the barrier between class status in order to be a truly unified team for one purpose—defeating the Japanese team. In the same way that a unified identity that is “Korea” was created in reaction to Japan, the unified identity of the YCMA baseball team was finally accomplished in reaction to the Japanese baseball team.

Even in the movie, it is recognized that the baseball rematch was much more than just a game. The Japanese official, Hidenori Nomura (Masato Ibu), who was so against his son, Hideo Nomura (Kazuma Suzuki), playing baseball instead of being a soldier, allowed him to play the game instead of arresting traitors-- his biggest job as a soldier. Hidenori explicitly stated that their team had to crush the YCMA baseball team because the audience of Koreans were looking at the team with a sense of hope and national pride that had to be destroyed. So clearly it is supported that the two baseball teams and their members are analogous to the countries they came from.

The Concept of Minjok in 1905

                   In the movie YMCA Baseball Team, the concept of Minjok (nation) is well apparent, Henry Em states that the vocabulary of minjok was introduced to Koreans in the late nineteenth century, but the concept of the “collective-self” existed well before the vocabulary itself (Robinson 336). It is important to understand the historical context of the time setting in the film prior to the discussion of the minjok (nation). The film sets the time frame in the year of 1905 when the nominal Great Han Empire (대한제국) was there in the Korean peninsula. Korea lost her diplomatic rights. The Japanese Empire instituted Tonggambu which eventually became the Governor General’s office after 1910. In fact, Korea became a protectorate of Japan in 1905.

                     In the film, it is easily noticeable that some of the characters use the word “byunjulja” often in which can be directly translated into a traitor in English. When Min Jung Rim’s father commits suicide after the Eulsa Treaty in 1905, Min’s mother calls one of her guests to the funeral as a traitor. He is the pro-Japanese collaborator and indirectly responsible for signing the treaty with Japan. Also, when Oh Dae hyun tries to kill Gwang Tae’s father, apparently the same person who comes to the funeral due to his involvement of the unfair treaty with Japan, Oh calls him a traitor once again in the film. I will focus on use of the vocabulary traitor. As mentioned earlier, the concept of nation was introduced to Koreans in the late nineteenth century. However, if many of the Koreans in the early twentieth century were grieved due to the shameful treaty and loss of their sovereignty, I could assure the concept of nation (“minjok”) already existed well before the 1890s. Furthermore, Em refers Cho Tonggol’s book and Cho “applauds the pioneer of nationalist historiography, Sin Ch’aeho, not for creating a historical narrative based on a new construct called the minjok but for creating a historical narrative based on the discovery of the minjok—suggesting that prior to its discovery the minjok was already present” (Robinson 337).

                     In addition, the film highlights groups of Koreans and the cheering squad when the rematch with Japan happens at the end. This scene can also be interrelated with the concept of minjok because the crowd really wants the Korean YMCA baseball team to win the rematch. I could feel the atmosphere in the film that the people cheer very passionately not only for their pleasures of enjoying sports, but for their desires to win the Japanese and maintain their national identities. After the Korean YMCA baseball team wins, the Japanese soldiers are about to capture Oh Dae Hyun and Min Jung Rim. The crowd and the whole baseball team resist the violence of the Japanese soldiers so the two people can escape. Overall, this film shows that the Koreans in 1905 did not actually consolidate the concept of minjok clearly; however, they are unconsciously aware of what nation (minjok) means due to the series of unfair treaties with Japan.   

YMCA Baseball Team: Comedy as a Deflector

While watching the film YMCA Baseball Team I found its approach to the reiteration of an unpleasant time interesting. First of all the quick movements of the camera as it swerved through streets and alley ways of Seoul created a storybook feel. Perhaps, the childish, playful feel of the the movie was attributed to the fact that the story was being recalled by a child. The movement of the camera as well as the interesting characters in the film, such as the twins and the odd silent man, made the story feel like make-believe, with a slight fantastical feel. The film was filled with comedic moments, which allowed the film to glaze over the more serious moments. For example, when, i believe it was Min Jeong rim’s relative, committed suicide Ho-chang’s love letter lightened the mood . Also, when Lee Ho-chang was having a serious conversation with his father comedic relief was provided with the throwing of the beads at Ho-chang. The film itself reminded me slightly of slap stick comedy. The silly moments in the film allow the movie to come off light hearted, in spite of the slightly darker events that occurred during the time. 

The film itself is fairly nationalistic, displaying the triumph of Korea over Japan through the classic American pastime, baseball. in reality  the occupation of Korea by Japan had just begun, and Korea would have to submit for many years to come. In film, during the final game between the Japanese team and the Korean YMCA team, Oh Dae-hyeon potentially sacrifices his freedom for the hope of Korea. The Koreans in this film are very nationalistic, which is contrary to what is believed they actually were at the time. 

Korea at the time was heavily influenced by both the Japanese and the Westerners. In this film the villain are the Japanese who are determined to take Korea. The Americans on the other hand, even though they too are influencing Koreans to adapt their ways, are portrayed as a part of the “good guys.” An interesting quote that was uttered during the final baseball game was when the announcer said that “the Koreans are looking to the YMCA team to give them what the Korean government couldn’t.” The YMCA baseball team is very western made apparent by its name and the sport they play. Therefore, I found it interesting how Korea was defending their country with such an American activity. It all ironically didn't seem nationalistic. 

Minjok And Ho-Chang

The ideas about nationalism – that it wasn’t always there, that it may be as oppressive by using the same discourse as the oppressor as it is liberating – Henry Em brings up in his chapter “Minjok as a Construct” are intricate and well argued. There is always the need to look at concepts in relation to other political and social policies, assumptions and histories of that time, which Em attempts to do by outlining all that was happening before and during when forms of minjok started appearing in writings. If ideas are not critiqued and examined from a different perspective when its legitimacy is questionable, serves to further confuse and disguise the truth.

Ho-Chang’s trajectory seems to parallel the belief that nationalism didn’t exist before, as stated in the Em’s article. Its understandable to a certain extent why people weren’t about nationalism at first and more about their own areas and provinces – they didn’t have to care until influences and policies could be stretched far afield, which modernization and colonialization did. Ho-Chang shifts from only playing his games and figuring out how to deal with his father to becoming passively involved in the politics and outside world, finally ending up being an activist involved in the guerilla assassin group – the Anti-Eulsa 50, which I gather from the last scene of the movie where he wears the same mask worn by the assassin sent to kill Kwang tae’s father. Furthermore, outside influences and modernization wrought the changes for Ho-Chang’s direction. Nationalism was brought into his life through outside influences: first, a western influence, to bring him into contact with Jung-Lim and Dae-Hyun and second, his activist friends, who had lived abroad and were involved in fighting against Japan’s colonialism, who increasingly involved him in nationalistic activities. Kang Kyong-Ae seems to have been similar too in that she was introduced to nationalistic movements and then helped further by acquaintances as described in the introduction to Wonso Pond.

Ho-Chang was brought into direct conflict with Japanese control which helped fostered his feelings of nationalism and this too can be seen as similar to Kang Kyong-Ae’s life in that she became more and more involved the more she resisted against colonial powers. Having something to fight against brings people together and the national identity is one of the most useful identities in that it brings the whole nation together transcending provincial or district identities. That’s probably one of the reasons why Shin Ch’aeho tried to “subvert weak and limited conceptions of Koreas national space” (345); which, mirrors what Perry says about Kang Kyong-Ae in the introduction in that she was trying to expand the spheres of influence of women and bring their struggles and importance to the forefront. In any case, nationalism’s significance and wide spread influence can’t really be ignored which just makes all its possible facets and reasons for propagation that much more important.

The YMCA Baseball Team and the New Minjok

In Minjok as a Modern and Democratic Construct: Sin Ch’aeho’s Historiography, Henry Em argues that status distinctions between the yangban, chungin, commeners, and ch’onmin class had created “horizontal lines of cultural cleavage in which each status group had its own idiom, norms, and social role.” When a new generation of political activists and intellectuals rose to redefine Korea, they re-imagined Korea’s “collective identity in terms of a deep horizontal comradeship,” regardless of the actual divisions and inequalities that prevailed in Korean society.

During the movie YMCA Baseball Team (2002), there are many occurrences of these “horizontal cultural cleavage.” The most apparent status distinction was between two players in the team who previously had been yangban and ch’onmin. The ch’onmin used to serve the yangban family but as the yangban class has been abolished, we can see the ch’onmin calling the yangban by his name. The yangban cannot get used to be in an equal status as the ch’onmin and creates disputes within the team. 

[YMCA Baseball Team] Transition

In the film YMCA Baseball Team, the director wanted to point out about how baseball was first introduced in Korea by American missionaries and how the first Korean baseball team was formed under the political influence of Japan. What I found most interesting was the setting of the film that introduced many aspects of the transition that Choson Korea was undergoing with the arrival of Western modernity as well as Japanese imperial forces. It says in the reading that the transformation of peasants into Frenchmen became possible after the establishment of universal schooling, unification of customs and beliefs by inter-regional labor migration and military service and subordination of political and religious conflicts to an ideology of patriotism. In other words, it was only after the emergence of modern state structures that distinctive social, political, and linguistic practices became available. This was the case in Korea, too. In the Chosun Dynasty, there was a very rigid social hierarchy that the system of slavery was still in existence. However, as Korea got modernized, men from different social affiliations were turned into a unified team. YMCA baseball team was composed by those including Korean aristocrats, a pair of twins, a political son, a few workers, a mute and a servant, the servant and his ex-owner were now on the same level. In the servant’s perspective, this transition could have been viewed positively since it gave him “freedom” and equal rights that he became a normal citizen of Korea.

During the publicity activities in the film, a couple of children sing a song that briefly sums up some traditional aspects of Korea, “My father wants me to become the admirer my mother wants me to become a powerful man’s wife.” The director then shows how Korea became modernized. In the main character Hochang’s case, his father wants him to follow the path of him by becoming a scholar, the admirer. However, he prefers to play sports and ultimately decides to chases his dreams. This western modernity lighted up his dull life by introducing him a new world of sports, and he was assisted by a “new woman” named Min Chong-rim, who’s shown as a well-educated/brave woman unlike other traditional Korean women.  In the film, the YMCA team never loses a game of their very first season, but as the Japanese military force is invading Korea, the team gets into trouble and lose their training field. It was very important to notice the rivalry built between the YMCA team and the Japanese team formed by Japanese soldiers, since this match not only meant who were the best at baseball but also a cry for freedom from the Korean people. 

Beginning of the modernization and Eulsa Treaty

The background of the movie “YMCA Baseball team” is in 1905 when Eulsa treaty occurred in Korea. Eulsa treaty is one of the famous events in Korean history in which Japan took away a diplomatic rights from Korea. The catcher Ryu Kwang Tae’s father is a pro-Japanese who was attacked by the anti Eulsa-50. During this period, many people became anti-Eulsa for sure, if I was in that period, I would become an anti-Eulsa because I do not want to lose my country. Also, Kwang Tae’s father flattered to Japan General all the time. When Jeong-rim’s father died in the movie, I thought that Jeong-rim’s father was involved in Eulsa treaty because when the Japan General and Kwang Tae’s father came to his funeral, mourning people did not like him to be there. In my point of view, Ryu Kwang Tae’s father was traitor who threw out the “minjok ethic”. During Japanese colonialism, Koreans were emphasized “Minjok Sahak” which means “on the eve of being colonized by Japan, to achieve political independence and to reclaim dignity and “authentic” identity in reaction to colonialist discourses on Korea, nationalists such as Sin Ch’aeho sought to arouse, unite, and mobilize the entire Korean population”. (Pg 342 Henry H EM)

Moreover, I found some interesting facts. The setting of the movie was the period that starting modernization in Korea. I could see mixed of Western Culture and Korean traditional culture in this move. I thought that baseball was a symbol that Korea started to accept western culture and Jeong-rim was a new woman who brought a modernization to Korea by teaching baseball rules as a missionary. Also, when you look at the people’s clothes, some people wore Korean traditional clothes called “Hanbok” and other people wore suits that we are wearing these days. Even the rooms between Jeong-rim and Ho-Chang have a big difference. Jeong-rim’s like more modernized than Ho-Chang’s.

Overall, in this period Korea started to accept some western culture; however, Eulsa treaty was the event that starting to Japanese colonization and the word “Minjok” was emphasized to avoid Japanese unfair domination.

On the Field: Sports Nationalism in YMCA Baseball Team

The film YMCA Baseball Team is in many ways a classic underdog sports story. The Korean team, made up of a ragtag group of people from different socio-economic classes and parts of the city, each with a unique and slightly eccentric personality, must defeat the almost professional, well-oiled military Japanese team in a game of Baseball. It differs from similar stories, however, in that it is positioned against the backdrop of colonized Korea and imperialist Japan. With this in mind, it is clear that the film is telling a nationalist story of Korea’s small triumph against its oppressors.

This story is reminiscent of nationalist re-creations and re-imaginations of Korean history. Em says in reference to nationalist writers in Korea in the late 19^th century:

In place of loyalty to the king and attachments to the village,
clan, and family, and in place of hierarchic status distinctions

among yangban, commoners, and base people, nationalist
historiography endeavored to redirect the people’s loyalty
toward a new, all-embracing identity of Koreans as a unique
ethnic group. (342)

This can easily be applied to YMCA Baseball Team. The Korean team in the film is led by a Yangban scholar, made up mostly of middle- and lower-class men, and managed by an educated woman. They overcome class differences in order to form a unified team, and only once their individual “attachments to the village, clan, and family” are overcome are they able to defeat their military oppressors and prove their strength as a team--that is, as a microcosm of the Korean nation.

Baseball, specifically, is an interesting place to situate this struggle. The sport has a long history as a nationalist American sport, and after it was brought to Japan during the Meiji restoration, it became a symbol of Japanese modernity, nationalism and westernization as well. So why place the struggle for Korean national identity within the framework of a game that is fundamentally representative of colonial oppressors?

Perhaps it is simply an issue of defeating said powers at their own game. This brings up an interesting question: why play the game in the first place? By adhering to the rules of baseball--and to the very concept that winning at baseball gives the winning team power of some kind--there is an implicit acceptance of the structures of power that created the rules. Why does the film not focus on a nationalist Korean team that plays a Korean sport, or refuses to play baseball?

The film ends with the Korean team winning, then triumphantly being arrested by the Japanese military. By acknowledging the power structures of baseball, and by adhering to the underdog story framework itself, the film is acknowledging the power, and arguably even some degree of legitimacy, of colonizing, nationalistic forces. The film thus seems to agree with the concept of nationalism as “a rational attempt by the weak and poor peoples of the world to achieve autonomy and liberty” (Em 343). Thus, nationalism is the film isn’t so much about resisting and driving out Japanese military forces--it’s about “autonomy and liberty” on a personal level. The team achieves nationalism in a moment of subjugation by the Japanese military--they are able to understand themselves as Korean within, and because of, the framework of the baseball game.

In the final scene, Hochang’s great-grandson continues the family legacy of baseball, and thus the legacy of Korean nationalism. The film seems to thus continue to believe in nationalism as a solution to Korea’s problems and a positive influence. This viewpoint is echoed in Korean pop artist Psy’s music video “Korea,” created for the 2012 London Olympics (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rpYq1lSce1U). This “sports nationalism”, in which people understand and re-iterate nationalist narratives through sports competitions, is a recurring theme throughout the world and especially during the Olympics. It’s interesting that one of the most common ways we express and understand our national identities is through the embodied, visceral and physical medium of sports. Perhaps state narratives need to be viscerally linked to bodies in order to be understandable. In a post-human world where the nature of the body is constantly being re-examined, sports nationalism may become less relevant to national and personal identities; but given its positive examination in YMCA Baseball Team and in Psy’s “Korea,” it seems to remain as poignant in popular culture as ever.