Under the Sky of Seoul (1961)

Under the Sky of Seoul 1961

Under the Sky of Seoul is a fascinating look into Seoul in the early 1960s, the opening scene shows us an aerial view of the city of Seoul, you can see how large Namsan looks compared to how it looks in modern day Seoul, in 1961 there are very few multi story buildings which is fascinating to see as Seoul is now filled with skyscrapers.
The story is pretty generic for the time period, rival families in the area, it's very interesting to see the traditional medicine vs. western medicine argument as Kim Hak Gyu practices traditional medicine whilst Dr. Choi is a doctor of modern medicine, operations vs acupuncture and herbs vs pills.
The character of Kim Hak Gyu is a very stubborn man who seems to pay little attention to what his family and those around him want and focuses on his own needs and desires, this leads to a lot of family tensions as his son unhappily leaves to find a job to provide for himself and the family he wants to have, and his daughter is in love with Dr. Choi who is Kim's rival. The story plays out well, as much as Kim Hak Gyu drove me insane I did enjoy the film overall, there was some comedic value to it too. If you want a look into the past at 1960s Seoul this is a good place to look.

Read More