Hero, villain, saint, criminal, sinner — these are all widely used descriptions of characters in novels, movies and folk tales. One can say that the basis of understanding for all human behavior begins with these definitions of what it means to be good, bad, and quite simply, human. Anything abnormally dark or evil instantly detracts a person’s humanity. Whatever good they did, or could have done, is diminished by one horrible act. To be human, as everyone would agree, is to be compassionate, empathetic, and most importantly, to do no harm to none. Do no harm is a doctrine as old as medicine itself; it is the epicentre of human civilization. But for Bong Joon-ho, renowned South Korean film director, producer and screenwriter, morality and traits of common decency are mere definitions; they are abstract concepts that hold no resemblance, nor correlation, to his characters. As one of his characters says, in the film Mother (2009) “anybody can commit murder. There is no license for it.” While Bong Joon-ho’s movies may be wholly unique to South Korea’s social structure, history and culture, as some of them are direct reflections of…
