#MeToo sensitivity tests hero director Bong's sexual imagination

Director Bong Joon-ho waves during an appearance at the 2019 Cannes Film Festival last month. Bong won the grand prix Palme d'Or for his film “Parasite” ― a first for a Korean. Yonhap

By Oh Young-jin

Bong Joon-ho, who has just won the Palme d'Or at the 2019 Cannes Film Festival for his film "Parasite," is facing scrutiny over accusations of “ambushing” an actress for an intimate scene and displaying a perverse sense of sexuality.

The ambushing controversy involves veteran actress Kim Hye-ja, the heroine of Bong's 2009 film "Mother." But Kim promptly explained that she had a lapse of memory, director Bong was not at fault and she had apologized to him.

It started at last month's meeting with fans, attended by Kim and Bong, when Kim revealed that Bong didn't consult her for a scene in “Mother” in which Won Bin, who played Kim's mentally handicapped son, touched her breasts.

"It was the scene in which Won said he wanted to sleep with his mom, came into the room and touched me," Kim said. She said that she let Won touch her, instinctively thinking it was an unprompted, spontaneous act that was necessary for artistic purposes.

Actress Kim Hye-ja ― with “Mother” director Bong Joon-ho ― talks about her experience at a meeting with fans last month. Kim retracted her claim that Bong filmed an intimate scene involving her without consultation. Captured from YouTube

When asked to explain the circumstances, Bong said he did not remember what happened but said: "People seem to believe that everything in filmmaking takes place under the full control of a director but many things just occur."

“Parasite” producer Barunson Enter & Arts issued a statement Wednesday, saying that Kim admitted a "lapse in memory" but she now recalled the circumstances in which Bong told her about the scene.

It said that she had long talks with Bong while “Mother” was being filmed and he mentioned Won might have to touch her breasts, in response to which she agreed that such a scene would not buck the context.

Although the Barunson explanation may put the Kim controversy to rest, it is still argued that "more clearly" Bong should have consulted and gained permission from Kim.

There remains another controversy over an interview with Bong in the trade magazine Cine21 in 2011 that raises eyebrows over the appropriateness of his view on sexuality.

The director then said he liked "long, narrow spaces," recalling the days when he directed the film "The Snowpiercer."

Bong's “Mother” poster

The movie takes place in a tunnel from start to end and is about penetrating through it, he said. "That tunnel continuously twists and turns, which drives me crazy by sexual excitement. The train is a man's penis and the tunnel is a woman's vagina."

Referring to a murder scene in “Mother,” Bong recalled filming the scene in a way that it signified an orgasm. "For the scene where Kim's face is splattered with blood, cinematographer Hong Gyeong-pyo and I were talking about specks of semen landing on the face (during ejaculation)," he said.

Bong's remarks indicate perverse sadomasochism under a Freudian brush stroke. These controversies have come after Bong's stocks skyrocketed following the Cannes victory, with some calling on him to clarify or apologize for his remarks and deeds, which reflects a sea change in our society that has been made super-sensitive about sexual equality, triggered by the mighty #MeToo movement.

How would the national hero film director respond to it?