Why Do Korean Dystopian Narratives Keep Us Engaged?

They are entirely worst-case scenarios-bleak and frightening-but they are also rife with enigma, which often leaves us agog

- DEBASHREE DUTTA

CONVERSELY TO an ideal utopian society devoid of criminality and brute force, the dystopian ethos is fraught with dread, authoritarianism, or other traits symptomatic of an impending doom within the social fabric. While dystopia and dystopian fiction are entirely worst-case scenarios-bleak and frightening-they are also rife with enigma, which often leaves us agog. Dystopia comes across as a nightmarish, dark future where phobias are deeply ingrained. Korean dystopian narratives, in that sense, provide us with a vivid glimpse of a comparable condition and occasionally may also hint at a dog-eat-dog Korean culture. 

As in the 2092 scenario of Space Sweepers (2021), dystopia in science fiction mostly stresses the serious repercussions of how things stand. In the space blockbuster, the UTS firm creates an alien civilization where Kim Tae-ho (Song Joongki), Captain Jang (Kim Tae-ri), Tiger Park (Jin Seon-kyu), and a robot dubbed Bubs, dwell as space sweepers after Earth becomes unfit for life. Digging through debris, they uncover Victory, a wrecked spaceship with a young girl inside (sought by the "UTS Space Guards"), and plan to demand a ransom in exchange for her.

Space Sweepers directed by Jo Sung-hee was Korea's first shot at a space-based movie and is resplendent in its space spectacle; it is also blatantly dystopian, notably with regards to the siege of Mars, likened to the affluent putting together Armageddon.