Memories of Murder is a 2003 film by Writer/Director Bong Joon-ho, starring Song Kang-ho and Kim Sang-kyung. The film was loosely based on the first serial murders in South Korea, which occurred from 1986 to 1991.
This was the second film written and directed by the Academy Award winning Director Bong Joon-ho (Parasite). This critically acclaimed movie is still considered one of the best movies from South Korea.
The film starts on October 23, 1986 with the discovery of the first victim in a small dry canal next to the rice field. The film never mentions where these murders took place, which allows the audience to feel the uneasiness that the murders could happen anywhere.
The film quickly moves onto the second victim and Detective Park (Song Kang-ho) interviews potential suspects. Later, Detective Seo (Kim Sang-kyung) arrives from Seoul to help with the investigation only to be confronted with an incompetent and sloppy investigation team.
There is one thing that the Western audience should keep in mind when watching this movie. The movie takes place starting in 1986.
Why this is important?
Starting in March of 1980 with the Gwangju Uprising, South Korea was undergoing a major political change. The authoritarian government faced constant protesting as people demanded change. Most of the police force and the military personnel were deployed to suppress the protesters. It wasn’t until after the 1987 election that South Korea could be called a democracy.
So why is this important to the movie?
The movie is more or less a critique of the time period and the police force rather than an action movie where a protagonist is pitted against the antagonist. It is not a story about how a talented investigator tries to catch an equally gifted bad guy. It is not a puzzle that the audience tries to solve along with the skilled detective.
The feeling that this movie evokes is frustration. And that is why this movie is brilliant. It makes people feel the injustice of the wrongly accused. We feel for Baek Gwang-ho, a mentally disabled man being mistreated over and over again. He deserved an apology rather than a pair of shoes. We even feel bad for the second suspect as he is tortured into signing a false confession. We feel the frustration as Detective Park dismisses Detective Seo’s methods, looking for evidence and following clues. We are frustrated by the many miss opportunities as the investigation stalls and the killer remains at large.
Life in South Korea during the 1980s
In the 1980s, the country was trying to move away from a military dictatorship towards democracy. Police were often used to quell pro-democracy demonstrations and used violence during interrogations. To put it into perspective, there is a scene in which the protestors were met with tear gas and beaten with batons. A woman was dragged by her hair and kicked while she was trying desperately trying to free herself.
We get a glimpse into the daily lies of Koreans with nightly air raid sirens that were accompanied by blackouts. Curfew meant everyone locked their doors and closed their businesses. Children practiced jumping through sack tunnels to safely exit the school from upper levels and carry stretchers for injured friends.
Now, back to the murders.
It’s difficult to say whether this case would have been solved under different circumstances. There had been numerous cases throughout history that remained unsolved without the political hindrances. The famous Zodiac Killer case in California remains unsolved. Even with our advance technology, there were numerous serial killer cases that remain open.
But the question still remains? Was this case unsolved because it was a difficult case or because the investigation was done poorly.
Before we get to that answer, let’s look at some of the frustrating points.
Police Brutality:
There were three suspects. First was Baek Gwang-ho, a man with a mental disability. Detective Park plants fake evidence in order to arrest him. The police stripped him down to his underwear and spent days trying to get a confession out of him. They even took him into the woods to re-enact part of the murder. Second was Jo Byeong-sun, a local man working at the nearby factory. After being severely beaten and even hung upside down, he gave a fake confession. The third and last suspect, Park Hyeon-gyu was beaten and had the gun pointed at him in order to get a confession. Even with the DNA results in hand, Detective Seo continued his assault and even ended up shooting in Park’s direction as he ran away.
When Inspector Cho was in the restaurant, the news about a police officer being sentence to prison for police brutality sparked the patrons from discussing how all police were bad. As if to prove their point, Inspector Cho unleased his anger at strangers, even grabbing a woman by her hair. Inspector Cho was warned even by his Chief to halt his assaults during investigations, but Cho doesn’t know how to do his job without the use of violence.
Bias and hubris:
Detective Park first meeting with Detective Seo was also with his fist. When Seo approached a woman to ask for direction, her fear mistook him for a dangerous person. Park didn’t hear Seo’s words, but rather he only saw the screaming woman and went after Seo with his fist. He didn’t apologize to Detective Seo, but rather sheepishly blamed the wronged man for not speaking up sooner.
Detective Park and the rest of the police force assumed that anyone running from the police were guilty. What they forgot (conveniently) was that unjust arrests were common during this time. People had the right to fear the police. But as police officers, they could not see past their own biases, which continually led them down the wrong path.
Detective Park’s hubris continued to get in the way of the investigation. He didn’t feel the need to listen to his new partner, Detective Seo and contradicted him every chance he got. Park’s so-called ability to look into someone’s eyes and know whether that person was innocent or guilty persisted in leading him off course. He took the advice of a shaman and performed a ritual to some deity. He had no need for following clues or looking at empirical evidence. He trusted his gut. It’s hard to make the argument that Detective Park is a bad man. He is a man outside his depth. He doesn’t have the proper tools to do his job. He’s just a man who has no business being a detective.
Police Procedure
During the investigation, police were quick to arrest suspects. The team had to get a new Chief after the discovery that the first suspect, Baek Gwang-ho, could not have committed the murders. This was an embarrassment for the police force because they even had a flashy news article to highlight their ‘accomplishment’. The police held the second suspect, Jo Byeong-sun, for four days without a warrant. Detective Park had to feed Jo details about the murders, so Park could get a confession on tape. When the Chief tried to declare a state of emergency, he was told that there were garrison because of a protest in Suwon.
What we know now?
The real serial killer case had total of ten victims ranging in age between 14 to 71. The murders took place in what is now Hwaseong, just outside of Seoul. This case was a catalyst for changes to the law as the government tried to extend the statute of limitation for this case. Statute of limitation was extended a year too late for this case. In 2015, statute of limitation was finally abolished, but it was not retroactive. Finally in 2019, the police identified Lee Choon-jae as a suspect. Due to DNA evidence, he eventually confessed to the murders and provided information on four other murders which were not part of the Hwaseong case. He had been serving a life sentence for the rape and murder of his sister-in-law.
In 1989, a man named Yoon Sung-yeo was tortured into confessing to the murder of a 13-year-old girl, which was part of the Hwaseong case. Since the police could not tie him to the murders, they labeled him a copycat and incarcerated him for 20 years. He was released on parole in 2009. When Lee Choon-jae confessed to the murders, it prompted Yoon to ask for a re-trial. During Yoon’s re-trial, Lee provided a testimony and admitted to the murder. Yoon was finally able to remove criminal record in 2020. During his testimony, Lee commented that the police questioned him on numerous occasions in 1986 but didn’t appeared interested in pursuing him further. During one of his interviews with the police, Lee was wearing a watch from one of his victims.
Lee Choon-jae will not serve any additional time for the Hwaseong murders due to the statute of limitation. However, his admission will ensure that he will not have a chance at a parole.
Based on Lee’s testimony, the investigation was sloppy. Lee wasn’t some mastermind who outwitted the police. For whatever reason, the police deemed Lee harmless. The only comfort is that some other investigator got it right and had him imprisoned for murder. If Lee had not been incarcerated since 1994; otherwise, who know how many more innocent people would have died.