한국 전쟁영화에서 남성성의 문제

A Question on the Masculinity in the South Korean War Films: Focusing on 71-into the Fire and The Front Line

In this paper, I seek to deal with questions on the masculinity in theSouth Korean war films. Key issues are three in the study. Firstly, it isa question on the passage of rite. War film represents the process whichkids grow up into men. A brave and bold behavior is the test ofmasculinity in the battleground. In other words, war is a passage of rite. While a conflict between two boys in 71-into the Fire is a hard-foughtbattle which competes for their masculinity, it is a key issue that soldiersare free from collective trauma in The Front Line. Secondly, it is a question on femininity. We cannot regard masculinityand femininity as separate. Basically, war film is the genre which womenare absent. In 71-into the Fire and The Front Line, women are mainlycharacters without sense of reality. The presence of women underminesthe masculinity of soldiers in the films. Thirdly, it is a question onsacrifice and victim. War film necessarily deals with death anddestruction. While patriotic war film glorifies a sacrifice for the nation,anti-war film focuses the victims which war, an irrational and absurdevent, brings about. 71-into the Fire and The Front Line demonstrate thistwo contrary attitudes on war very well.