'It is too early to discuss truth of my Battleship Island,' says Ryoo
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Korean filmmaker Ryoo Seung-wan during an interview with The Korea Times at a cafe in Samcheong-dong, Seoul, Thursday. / Courtesy of CJ Entertainment
By Kim Jae-heun
“The Battleship Island,” a movie by popular filmmaker Ryoo Seung-wan, has caused various controversies _ from its alleged distortion of historical facts to the monopolization of screens here _ after record-breaking sales of over 970,000 tickets on its opening day last month.
As with many of Ryoo’s previous movies, the war film was one of the most anticipated this year. It is based on the historical tragedy of Koreans doing forced work on Hashima Island in Japan. Some 500 to 800 people were forcibly drafted there to serve as slave laborers during the Japanese colonial era (1910-1945).
Hashima Island earned the name “Battleship Island” from the Korean people for its shape.
The tragic event remains a very sensitive issue today and the controversial man-made island was named a UNESCO World Heritage site in 2015.
Ryoo had to anticipate a certain level of criticism that would follow his movie. But it was more harsh and unacceptable than he expected.
Several viewers have questioned his intention of highlighting pro-Japanese Korean characters that cooperated with Japan.
Much criticism followed over leading actors’ remarks during interviews that they were glad the story did not adopt the dichotomous frame of bad Japanese and good Koreans.
Critics also pointed out that the movie downplayed the harsh environment and heavy labor the Koreans people suffered, especially in the scene where Ryoo depicted some drinking alcohol or smoking cigarettes. Victims forced into labor on Hashima Island testified that they dug coal from a mine 12 hours a day _ crouched and wearing only underwear _ in a cave where the temperature was 45 degrees Celsius. The Japanese only fed them boiled soybean oil residue and nearly 100 laborers died of malnutrition.
However, Ryoo rejected the backlash, saying he is willing to accept criticism but not slander.
“The created characters, events and circumstances depicted in Battleship Island are not all distorted,” Ryoo said during an interview with The Korea Times at a cafe in Samcheong-dong, Seoul, Thursday. “We received advice from the military and historians for filming the escape scene.
“We prepared for nearly four years, researching information on Hashima Island and Koreans who were forcibly drafted to serve as slave labor there. There was surprisingly little information and we travelled around to meet organizations related to Battleship Island and dug into historical material found in Japan. Audiences only take information from the movie and when the stereotype kicks in, it creates a clash.”
Ryoo said it is too early to judge his film, as the historical tragedy just surfaced through popular variety TV show “Infinite Challenge” in 2015.
“We just learned about what happened in Hashima Island in the 21st century and it is very difficult to find information on it,” Ryoo said. “It is too early to say what I’ve produced in the scenes is either right or wrong.”
The filmmaker had to create a pro-Japanese character in the film to make it fully fledged. It was the Korean “traitors” that angered Ryoo more.
“In the scene, the Japanese don’t shout at the Koreans,” he said. “They had been taught that Koreans were inferior and recognized us as livestock. You can see it from how they piled up the dead bodies of Koreans killed during bombing raids and burned them together while chatting lightly .
“Basically, this is the method of how imperialists rule their colony. They make local traitors and blame all their wrongdoings on them, and deny it was their fault. I wanted to show how it worked through the film, how the Japanese controlled the Koreans who sided with the power to suppress the nation.”
Ryoo does not regret making a film about the controversial event.
“Until now, I made movies that I wanted to make,” he said. “I did not feel obliged to report on the tragedy or had an intention to make another successful commercial film with a controversial issue. I don’t know how to make movies that win many praises. I just do what I think is right.
“I believe there are more than 5 million “Battleship Island” movies, as each of the 5 million people who have watched the film until now understand it differently.”
The film director learned about Battleship Island when he turned 40 through a picture of Hashima Island. He said he felt embarrassed that he was ignorant of the history. There are too many controversies revolving around Korea’s modern historical events and barely any of them are set as truth, he said.
“We need to know what are facts and what are not,” Ryoo said. “Diverse perspectives and interpretations can start from the fact and we need to study history in order to debate it.”
On the screen monopoly issue, the filmmaker said he agrees, but has no control over film distribution. The issue has been raised for over 10 years and Ryoo said if it hasn’t been fixed and everyone agrees it is a problem, legal action must change the system to prevent the monopoly.
“The Battleship Island” was screened in over 2,000 theaters among 2,700 across the nation. It became the film screened in most cinemas in Korea as its distributer CJ Entertainment owns the country’s largest movie theater chain, CGV.
“If you know me well, I’d never agree on the screen monopoly system,” Ryoo said. “I feel regretful and sorry. But I did not commit a crime and I don’t know why I have to be at the center of the issue. I hope we can fix this problem here so it doesn’t happen again in the future.”