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Observations of Differences Between K-horror and J-horror

J-horror and K-horror share some similarities, but many of the differences may be rooted in cultural history.

By Nancy GPublished 3 years ago 4 min read
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The excellent South Korean horror movie #Alive, directed by Cho Il-hyung, made me think about the differences between J-horror and K-horror, and how K-horror has really been killing it (not that there was really a time when it wasn't). Don't get me wrong, J-horror is still fantastic. But the last few K-horror things I've watched have made me really notice the current differences between the two. And I wanted to get this down.

One of the main differences I'm noticing right now is the hopefulness vs hopelessness between K-horror and J-horror. And it occurred to me that this makes obvious sense given the larger histories of the two countries (something I possibly did or should have noticed a long time ago, but didn't give as much thought to, unfortunately). Some popular K-horror movies and (like Train to Busan and Kingdom) are fast-paced, even in slower sequences, & put great deal into bringing the audience into the perspectives of the characters. Whereas a large portion of J-horror (like The Grudge & The Ring) is more contemplative, slower, & creates more of a distance between the characters' perspectives and the audience - but really hits home the existential terror. (Of course, this is not always the case, such as with movies like Battle Royale and anime and anime-to-live action movies. But that's another subject!)

In much of the K-horror I've seen, "you" are the character, through connected perspectives -- & "you" have a chance through ingenuity and perhaps some luck. Whereas in J-horror, the character could be you -- the impersonalization creates the sense that the horrors visited upon the characters in the movie could just as easily happen to anyone, no matter how prepared or ill-prepared. And, more often than not, there is no chance, no luck, no escape.

I realized that the hopelessness of most J-horror possibly reflects a larger underlying cultural connection to the horrors of WWII, the bomb, & other events. In many of the aforementioned movies, unsuspecting people are drawn into an irreversible and tragic fate simply by engaging in innocent, everyday activities. Walking into a house, living in an apartment, watching a video, using a cell phone. Things people do all the time without a second thought.

For instance, I read about several terrible natural disasters in Japan in the early 1900s. Tsunamis killed over 100,000 people one year, and then a couple of short years later killed hundreds of thousands more. Then, of course, there were the atomic bomb disasters of WWII. In all of the instances, hundreds of thousands+ people were simply minding their own business, going about regular activities. There are pictures of the blackened outlines of people in the middle of things like going to the bank or leaving their homes in Hiroshima, prior to the bomb drop. The heat from the blast was so instant, their bodies were incinerated leaving noting behind but outlines. Given this type of cultural history, it’s easy to see how much of the horror focuses on characters who have little to no chance for survival regardless of what they did.

While I have to admit I'm not as familiar with as much of South Korean's history, aside from some cultural shifts in film due to occurrences such as the Korean War, I do think that there is more of a hopeful outlook in the horror movies. Even when all but one or two main characters survive, there is typically a sense that there is hope in the larger sense. This is not the case with all K-horror. But -- especially in more recent horror films and shows -- there is a feeling that, culturally, survival is always within reach in the larger sense. A number of films and shows end with some sort of military or warrior presence that saves the day. Given some of South Korea's conflicts and historical wars, it seems reasonable to make this connection. As a country, South Korea has fought for survival as a nation for a very long time, as many other countries and cultures have. And that determination to not give in, even under the most dire of circumstances -- like in a zombie apocalypse -- seems to be reflected in some of the country's most popular horror offerings.

Since J-horror and K-horror are often compared (and some fans argue about which is scarier) I think it's of interest to note some of these cultural differences that might have an impact of how the horror films and shows of each country play out. Just like how much of the history of oppression, the fight for survival, and actualization of identity, etc., is found in many Black and other horror movies - most notably Get Out and Us, as well as modern horror classics like Tales from the Hood. While many still dismiss horror as cheap scares or work with no greater meaning, others are highly aware of the fact that it can be a great vehicle for exploring and expanding upon larger cultural truths and universal meaning.

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