The Indian Ocean Tsunami of 2004 was the worst tsunami recorded in history with more than 300,000 lives lost. Man-sik experiences the catastrophe first hand, when he and his men get stranded mid-sea while deep-sea fishing. All crew except one is rescued and Man-sik feels responsible for the death of the lost crew member the father of Man-siks long-time love, Yeon-hee. Four years on after returning home, he is still unable to open up his heart to Yeon-hee because of the guilt. When he finally musters up the courage to propose to her, he is interrupted by the force of nature.
Man-siks younger brother Hyung-sik works as a coast guard. While on patrol, he rescues Hi-mi who had fallen off a yacht. The beautiful and spoiled vacationer from Seoul is instantly drawn to her rescuer and launches a bold campaign to win his heart. Hyung-sik finds himself attracted to her little by little.
A marine geologist Kim Hwi discovers that the Korean East Sea is showing signs of activity similar to the Indian Ocean at the time of the 2004 Tsunami and heads down to Haeundae to warn the authority. He runs into his ex-wife who is also in Haeundae to oversee an international event. With her, is their 7-year-old daughter whom he has never met. The fact that his daughter doesnt know who he is gives rise to complex emotions in Hwi.
In the meanwhile, a mega-tsunami is created as Hwi feared and is headed straight for Haeundae, to the unaware vacationers enjoying a peaceful hot summer day.
Man-siks younger brother Hyung-sik works as a coast guard. While on patrol, he rescues Hi-mi who had fallen off a yacht. The beautiful and spoiled vacationer from Seoul is instantly drawn to her rescuer and launches a bold campaign to win his heart. Hyung-sik finds himself attracted to her little by little.
A marine geologist Kim Hwi discovers that the Korean East Sea is showing signs of activity similar to the Indian Ocean at the time of the 2004 Tsunami and heads down to Haeundae to warn the authority. He runs into his ex-wife who is also in Haeundae to oversee an international event. With her, is their 7-year-old daughter whom he has never met. The fact that his daughter doesnt know who he is gives rise to complex emotions in Hwi.
In the meanwhile, a mega-tsunami is created as Hwi feared and is headed straight for Haeundae, to the unaware vacationers enjoying a peaceful hot summer day.
This movie displays individualist cultures when Man Sik felt guilty because he felt responsible for the death of Yeon Hee's father. His social behaviour is largely determined by his attitude. He create his own ingroups, rather than tradition. This is shown when the force of nature affected him when he has already made up his mind to propose to Yeon Hee. This shows that only specific aspects of a person's life is influenced by ingroups.
It also displays Classic Dimension of Cultures by Edward Hall. Korea is a country with high context cultures. Koreans have restricted codes and contextual cues. This can been seen in Kim Hwi's experience when he came across his daughter whom he has never met before. The way he kept quiet about his relationship shows that silence is part of the communication pattern in Korea.
In my opinion, I feel that Haeudae is a show that depicts the Korean culture and how they react when they are faced with a deadly situation. It goes to show that every country has her own culture and their actions is dependent on their culture. This means that culture shapes people and this is done through socialisation.
Very reasonable conclusion! Natural disasters are a main topic for today's movie makers, and from the trailer, despite having the typical comic korean moments, it almost resembled scenes in Western shows like 'The day after tomorrow.'
ReplyDeleteHowever, you pointed out that the show's distinct difference lies in its context of the Korean culture, and I would think that it would make quite a bit of difference there.
I agree that Korea is a collectivist society just like ours. They value filial piety above many others. In the movie, many koreans would try to save their whole family including their old parents instead of leaving them alone. However, collectivist environment advocates conformity and thus restrict the expression of views of its citizens. But I do agree that the actions of the people depends on their culture.
ReplyDeleteI agree that many Asian countries are collectivist society. It is a good sign that they emphasize on filial piety and such. This preserves their culture.
ReplyDeleteI believe that a culture is actually kept in a collectivist society. However, the younger generation may be losing it and people of the older generation should emphasize the importance of it.
ReplyDeleteSince this show is based in Korea, it definitely show the culture in Korea and stereotypes of Korean culture. It is a little similar to Singapore culture because Singapore is more of the high context culture.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you that culture shapes us. I felt that may be you would like to include how Westernisation shaped us too. This is because it has a major influence all over the world especially Asian countries like Singapore, etc.
ReplyDeleteThis movie definitely depicts the Korean culture. It gives others a better idea and understanding of the Korean culture. I agree with you that culture shapes us and the perception we have.
ReplyDeleteI feel that a collectivist environment might not be suitable to different cultures. They might have a clash. Therefore, it is the culture that determines what type of environment that people live in.
ReplyDeleteWhether a person lives in a collectivist or individualistic society, I believe that at the end of the day, it depends on how much exposure an individual gets in each particular type of society.
ReplyDeleteYou have identified and highlighted Korean culture in this movie. Perhaps you could compare Singapore's culture and Korean culture. Otherwise, I felt that you have demonstrated the main idea of this movie very well.
ReplyDeleteI agree that Korea has a high context culture. Many Asian countries were high context culture until Westernisation took place and influence these countries to open up. Hence,many of these countries changed from high context culture to low context culture.
ReplyDeleteNice explanation! I do agree that culture shapes people. And this korean culture is a good example.
ReplyDeleteI definitely agree with you that a country's culture does shape their people. This Korean movie is a good example of it.
ReplyDeleteThis movie is interesting. Not only does it show the culture of the people in Korea but also how their culture shape their thinking and reactions to certain matters.
ReplyDeleteI love this movie, it is very interesting.
ReplyDeleteThis movie tells us to be observant and alert to our surroundings. In the event of a tsunami, one can escape from it in time. This movie teaches us not to also take life for granted.