Bong Joon-ho's 'Memories of Murder' (2003)
Her Head in FilmsMay 21, 202401:13:04

Bong Joon-ho's 'Memories of Murder' (2003)

In this episode, I talk about Bong Joon-ho's 2003 film "Memories of Murder." It's based on the real-life Hwaseong serial murders that happened in a rural area of South Korea in the 1980s and early 1990s. At the time the film was released, the case was unsolved. However, shortly before recording my episode, major news broke that a suspect had been identified through DNA. I go into this new development and provide information on the original murders. Since the film is based on a true crime story, I discuss my own interest in true crime and focus on the way the film looks at abuses of power and violence against women. Finally, I talk in-depth about the ending. This episode contains spoilers. It also includes discussion of rape, violence, and dark subject matter.


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Full show notes and sources

• "Number of women killed by homicide grew by 21 percent, says new study" (CBS News) (https://www.cbsnews.com/news/us-homicide-rate-female-victims-of-homicide-rose-by-21-percent-according-to-study-2018-12-6/)
• "More than half of the women slain in 2017 were killed by family or parents, study says" (CBS News) (https://www.cbsnews.com/news/more-than-half-of-women-slain-in-2017-were-killed-by-family-intimate-partners-study-finds/)
• "Police say they've identified a suspect in South Korean serial murder case" (CNN) (https://www.cnn.com/2019/09/19/asia/south-korea-serial-murder-intl-hnk-scli/index.html)
• "South Korea serial killer suspect found after 30 years, but won't face prosecution" (The Guardian) (https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/sep/20/south-korea-serial-killer-suspect-found-after-30-years-but-wont-face-prosecution)
• Korean Film Directors: Bong Joon-ho (edited by Jung Ji-youn) (https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/6818895)