Coachman (1961) is considered as one of the best Korea films in recent history mostly because it captures important social and economic aspects of its time. Directed by Kang Dae-Jin, the film features a simplistic but compelling story about a distinct era in South Korea’s history. The new Korea that is portrayed in this film poses a series of challenges to Choonsam’s four children who are all embroiled in one form of a struggle or another. The Coachman is a film that depicts various themes but its portrayal of modernization and modernity is most outstanding. This review discusses the film’s depiction of modernization and modernity in reference to its visual imagery, characterization, and underlying themes among other things.

The director of The Coachman employs some outstanding aspects of visual imagery to show how modernization and modernity have impacted the life of the main actors. One of the most prominent filming techniques in this film is a mise-en-scene mash up that is nostalgic of the 1950s film revolution. The film opens with a sequence where coachman’s youngest son is being chased after he steals someone’s bicycle. As the supposed thief runs through the neighborhood the film’s cinematography keeps changing in terms of lighting, props, and scenes by showing how he is moving from nice looking modern houses and into an area that is dominated by traditional houses, and then through a slum that is filled with shack-like houses. The visuals send a clear message that modernity has brought about “attendant problems as rapid and uneven urbanization, the emergence of a working class, and, of particular importance for this discussion, the massive uprooting of the peasant population” (Jeong 131).

The main idea in this film is that modernity has brought about a new economic era, and the lives and experiences of the main characters are at best a testament to this new development. Modernity being a collective problem means that the filmmaker relies heavily of full shot filming technique to deliver coherent sequences to the viewers about his attitudes towards modernity. For example, Choonsam’s employers are often captured in full shot behind an affluent backdrop and elegant costumes. Furthermore, scenes depicting the problems of the main character are sequenced with others that show those of his children. For example, a shot can move from the old man walking the horse to his eldest son studying hard.

Coachman’s family highlights the film’s overall attitude towards modernity, where each member faces a key societal challenge of the era. Just like in other stories of this era, the film “captures the melodramatic dimensions of the profound personal dislocations that have accompanied South Korea’s rapid postwar social transformation” (McHugh and Abelmann 45). For instance, the dramatic changes in the way of life in Korea are highlighted through Coachman’s daughter Okrye, who is in an abusive arranged marriage. Through this daughter, it is clear that modernity has not yet solved the problems of the rights of women and people with disabilities. On the other hand, Coachman’s youngest daughter is involved in social climbing with the view of escaping the economic pitfalls that have been created by modernity. Daeeop is probably stealing to escape similar life situations. Each of these main characters is striving not to be lost or forgotten in the ensuing modernization.

Modernization as seen through the Coachman is a straightforward struggle that involves people from all demographics. The filmmaker uses the techniques that were part of the 1950 and 1960s film industry to highlight how the postwar Korean South is experiencing modern times. Part of this film’s success is that all characters carry almost the same weight in their collective depiction of the struggles that accompany modernization.

 
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