Themes

loss of innocense, authoritarian control, human act’s range, remember/forget, conflict/resolution, grief/pain, survival guilt, duality of human, strength/fragility

Character

Dong-ho

Dong-ho’s mother

grief

privately endures: “eat cold rice and carrying on life despite the grief” with vivid memory of Dong ho as her salvation

public advocate: public opposition against Chun doo hwan; externalized pain into action

Location/Space

Gym/Assembly Hall: places usually for living students to gather, however used for placing corpses. This sharp contrast shows the loss of innocense

Symbolism/Themes

Track pants/suits: wear by students, a symbol of innocense and vitality, a contrast to the deaths and to illustrate the loss of inocense to brutality

National Anthem: irony, where Dong Ho questioned the significance of singing anthem for a nation who killed its own people. Reflect on authoritarian control

glass: symbol of human fragility

candle