Folktale movie accused of defaming chastity icon

By Bae Ji-sook

Staff reporter

The mythological Seong Chun-hyang, whose first name has become synonymous with chastity and wisdom here, has been hailed by conservative and Confucianism followers for centuries.

The story of Chun-hyang, one of the most influential folktales, depicts a star-crossed romance between Lee Myong-ryong, the son of an aristocrat, and Chun-hyang, the lowly daughter of a former courtesan. The story has often been dubbed as the Korean "Romeo and Juliet."

However, a new film, "Servant," which describes Chun-hyang as a lust-driven clever woman, has infuriated worshipers of the fidelity icon.

The Chunhyang Festival, based in Namwon, North Jeolla Province, urged the movie production Barunson and the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism Thursday to halt distribution and screening of the film at cinemas nationwide.

"We have held annual commemorative rituals for her over the past 80 years to honor her love and dedication. However, the film simply downgrades her as a woman fooling around with servants and taking advantage of men," stated the group, which organizes the annual festival.

It is one of the largest festivals in the southwestern part of the peninsula, attracting tens of thousands of tourists a year.

"The story of Chun-hyang represents Korean culture and sentiment and is adapted to theatrical plays, films and other cultural media," an official from the group said. "It was becoming an international classic story. The film production as well as the ministry should take responsibility for tarnishing her image and residents of Namwon."

The festival organizers and other civic groups plan to hold various campaigns to pull the movie from the silver screen.

The film producers at Barunson as well as the ministry said they will be looking into the issue.

"No one has yet raised concerns and we are quite astonished that the movie could be received in such a context," Yu Hye-won, promoter of the movie, said.

The film gives a twist to the classical story, turning Chung-hyang into a femme fatal, juggling a menage-a-trois with Mong-ryong and his servant Bang-ja.

The erotic comedy is a box office hit drawing audiences of 160,000 nationwide on its opening day and earning generous reviews from critics.