I decided to have a movie night tonight and was drawn to the 1995 film A Single Spark, which tells the true story of famous labor rights activist Jeon Tae-il, who self-immolated as protest against inhumane working conditions in 1970. It’s powerful stuff without being overly dramatic, and I recommend it to anyone interested in the history of Korean labor rights. I feel like it is something featured fairly often in dramas, but a lot of international viewers aren’t aware of just how important these movements are to recent Korean history and Korean identity. It’s something I myself am slowly learning about. While I don’t think all art needs to be (or should be) overtly related to social justice, whenever I watch something that is I am reminded once again of the power of art–even if it’s done poorly!

The Korean Film Archive channel on YouTube is an absolute goldmine for any Korean film buff, by the way. Definitely check it out if you haven’t. There are quite literally hundreds of films from 1920 to 2000. Some are good, some are bad, and many are somewhere in between, but they’re pretty fascinating in their own right to anyone interested in Korean film.

Saying this makes me sound a little crotchety, and maybe it’s survivorship bias at play here, but it sometimes seems that Chungmuro has lost some of its edge and its heart even as it has gained international prestige and booming production values. But it very well may be my nostalgia-tinged glasses making me feel this way.

Anyway, I’m feeling the beginnings of a thematic kick here and plan on finally getting to dramas like Special Labor Inspector and Awl. If anyone else has any other drama, film, or English/Spanish-language literature recommendations on the topic of Korean labor rights, I’m all ears!