Stuck in Limbo

Taeguki establishes feelings, times, and relationships very clearly in some cases either with repetition e.g. Chin-Seok and Chin-Tae close brotherly relationship, the latter fiercely protective and loving of the former and their relatively happy and idyllic family life amidst their relative poverty OR with an establishing shot and music e.g. the reverence with which the movie wants the subject matter to be treated (Kim, 2013) and the long shot introducing us to the past. These associations are consistent till the war breaks out and then things become progressively more ambiguous. Chin-Seok grows up and stops being the highly dependent dongsaeng; Chin-Tae becomes caught up in soldier mode and less family oriented (though it can be see as Chin-Tae considering the South Korean population his family and thus protecting them his duty as much as he considered protecting his brother his duty) and the distance between the brothers grow, from sharing ice creams and frantically looking for each other after battles to sitting further and further apart after battles and differing correspondingly in their reactions after battles.

            However, despite the detours and the feeling that nothing can bring things back to anything resembling the starting point, that is what happens. The brothers are brought back together on two different time lines: first on the battlefield, during the past, and then second, 50 years later, when Chin-seok finally finds out what happened to Chin-Tae. This circling back, this simultaneously cyclical and parallel feeling of time, can be commentary on how despite all the fall outs in between the start and end, they are still the same people. They are still hyung-jae despite being separated physically and ideologically by the war. This is also part of the ‘stuck in limbo’ feeling that armistice has contributed to – it’s a truce, not a decisive ending. Time and space connect and behave in non linear ways. There are still things to be resolved, things that hang in suspension (Kim, 2013).

            Chin-Seok reverts to being the little brother crying for his brother and the security and love he offered from being the head of a family for the past 50 years. The relationship between the brothers hasn’t been lost despite time and it has haunted him throughout his life, as has the lack of closure and knowledge of what happened. This speaks to the lack of closure the armistice has brought: despite the division, there is still active rivalry and tension that is very much the continuation of past issues that have not been resolved. And on top of that, even if there is closure, it will still be ugly. It’s not a peaceful acceptance but the full force of knowing for certain what has happened and the knowledge of the loss and pain, all related to events that is very much a living and present part of the lives of people who lived though the war.

            However, the movie moves quickly from the scene of mourning back to the past which is seen to be more hopeful, with the younger generation talking about going to school amongst the destruction wrought by the war. Kim says it can be a justification of path followed by South Korea and its economic prosperity, but it was more jarring for me and more evocative of what has been done to the people who still need closure – their loss is left behind and we head forward into new movements and eras while the struggles still exist below the veneer, as seen in Chin-seok who partakes in the talk of further education but who we’ve just seen, 50 years later, breaking down over his brother’s confirmed death.