Dokdo, Korean identity, to be delivered via film
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Matthew Koshmrl shoots “Dokdo: A Documentary Film” in Tokyo, Japan, in this July 3 file photo. / Courtesy of Matthew Koshmrl
By Lee Ji-hye
The dispute with Japan over its sovereignty claims on Dokdo, Korea’s easternmost islets, is for citizens here and the government, not just a disagreement over territorial boundaries.
The issue is a spoiler in Seoul’s relations with Japan due to Tokyo’s claim to the islets amid the ever-growing importance of cooperation in the region, in which North Korea’s nuclear ambitions still exist.
However, Koreans as well as the government are refusing to budge an inch from their strong stance, as the issue is regarded as part of “Korean identity.”
That is what drove American filmmaker Matthew Koshmrl to shoot a documentary film featuring the islets, “Dokdo: A Documentary Film,” in which he sought to capture the essence of Dokdo activists in Korea and what constitutes Korean identity through their stories.
The documentary focuses on what drives the passion of a group of Koreans who defend the reasons for the nation’s sovereignty over the islets, which are situated off the eastern coast of North Gyeongsang Province.
Koshmrl and his four-member movie-making team began shooting in May, following the group nationwide and even overseas. The rest of the production team was comprised of two camera operators, a sound designer and a producer.
“Each of the main characters in my film has a Korean identity, “Kosmrl said. “Dokdo, an island itself, really shows what the island means to the Korean identity and how it has affected different generations.”
The native of Minnesota said that the history and the continuing political significance of these islands were what caught his interest.
“At first glance, many foreigners will not understand why Koreans are so passionate about Dokdo,” said Koshmrl. “But it’s also because many people don’t know about the Japanese occupation of Korea at all, nor about how women and children were treated, forced into sex slavery and what the island still represents.“
The 27-year-old director explains on the project’s official Facebook page that his film, “will not be about who’s right and who’s wrong,” but rather, the subject is presented from an objective point of view.
“As a foreigner, who wasn’t affected by Japanese imperialism, you really start to empathize with a deeper understanding of where they’re coming from,” Koshmrl said. “I wanted to show this through the film, how the people protest, and although it can be shocking ― it needs to be shown the way it is.”
Koshmrl first learned about the islets during his years as an English teacher from 2009 to 2012. He first saw content about Dokdo included on a kindergartener’s curriculum at a school in Daegu.
“I’d never even heard of Dokdo before I came to Korea,” he said. “It was actually in one of the English books that I was teaching from, and I had to teach about this island that I had no idea about.”
Koshmrl said that his co-teachers in the school introduced him to the issue, but a wide range of students played an influential role as well.
“I taught from kindergarteners to people in their 70s and 80s, and Dokdo would always come up as an issue, especially for older people,” he said. “Dokdo was very often in the news, and it was very interesting to hear the different opinions in the generations, which ultimately inspired the film.”
In order to produce the film, Koshmrl, a graduate school student at University of Texas in Austin, received sponsorship from the school, while raising $10,656 (10.8 million won) from 87 backers on Kickstarter, an online platform for project fundraising. The team’s goal of $10,000 was reached by Aug. 19, within 35 days.
The production team said that the donations came from a wide variety of people.
“It was into a breakdown of 50-50, between donations from Koreans and a bunch of different other countries,” Koshmrl said.
The fundraising project was not just promoted through word of mouth, but on Facebook and Twitter.
The production team shot their film in cities including Seoul, Suwon, Gyeonggi Province and Namwon, North Jeolla Province, but also travelled to Tokyo to follow Noh Byung-man, who protested against the Japanese government’s sovereignty claim on Dokdo.
“He would demand a meeting with Abe,” Koshmrl said. “He would make statements in front of the parliament and he would be surrounded by policemen, but they didn’t arrest him. They couldn’t because he’s not going to harm anyone.”
The director explained that the crew spent a lot of time with the characters in the film.
“I wanted to explore what they’re doing and why,” he said. “I want their stories to transcend and, overall, show a perspective of Korean identity through these peoples’ identities,“ he said.
The production team explained that the main characters and their personal connections to the issue were what made them realize how Dokdo is really a big part of the lives of those in the group.
“I wanted to study closer what drives them to use their free time, fly to Japan in hanbok, and to be so passionate about this issue,“ Koshmrl said. Hanbok is traditional Korean attire.
When the film crew followed one of their main characters to Tokyo, they also drew the attention of national security forces in Japan.
Two men kept an eye on their project, according to the production team, as they told a story of an amusing encounter with Japanese policemen that followed them ― just like the police had followed the group they were filming.
“There were these two guys,” said Matt Root, the second cameraman who started the story.
“We supposedly had secret government agents following us around,” Graham Holford, the sound designer of the team, said. “We noticed them straight away.”
Koshmrl said: “They would wear plain clothes, but awkwardly, followed us to our hotel and waited in the van. They knew that when Noh Byung-man would be doing his campaign, we would be there too.”
The policemen also followed the production team throughout their entire stay in Japan, including when they gathered different opinions from people on the street, also known as “voxpop.”
When it came to public comments regarding Dokdo, the Japanese public was quite indifferent.
“The overwhelming response we saw from Tokyo was that either people didn’t know about it, or some even said that that they didn’t care at all,” the director explained.
The production team plans to enter the Dokdo documentary in as many film festivals as possible.
“The Busan International Film Festival,” he said. “But we’ll also be entering many more in the United States, as well.” The production team can be reached at tumblbug.com/dokdo.