ACF - Asian Cinema Fund

2014 Asian Network of Documentary (AND) Fund

LIST ARMY (aka. Military Play)

Synopsis

Military Play tells the story of young men metamorphosing into a "modern soldier". The story is actually a visual collage of not what the military is, but what it should be. The film would be structured loosely around tensions and movements of various scenes pertaining to the Korean military. Scenes of new recruits in training, the honor guard, various machines juxtaposed with love letters would create a fantastical, idealized and almost romantic form of the military to the extreme. The honor guard is literally a decorative unit. However, since image is so important to the military I consider honor guard as the heart of the military. The honor guard scene will combine both studio shots and documentary shots. My father is a Vietnam War veteran. The Vietnam War is the only war after the Korean War where Korean soldiers were dispatched to the actual battles. I plan to go to Vietnam with my father who fought a war there. I plan to interview my father about his experiences of the war.

Director's Note

A modern military is built around images. During my experience of military service, I was repeatedly trained to “look” like a soldier.
The image consists of details of my uniform, facial expressions, the way I speak, stand, walk, and salute… which were repeatedly trained to transform myself to “look” like a genuine soldier.
The form is the content of military because appearance of strength is useful in a real battle. In the work Military Play I will explore mixed emotions attached to the color, form, and movements regarding the military.

Festivals

2018 Busan International Film Festival - Wide Angle_Documentary Competition / BIFF Mecenat Award

Still Cut

LIST