K-drama Revenant: a profound story about suicide and survival
WARNING: Spoilers ahead!
Screenwriter Kim Eunhee’s latest work, “Revenant,” topped the South Korean household TV ratings during the weeks that it aired, becoming the most-watched show in its time slot among the key demographic of viewers ages 20 to 49. It’s about a woman named Gu Sanyeong (Kim Taeri) who is possessed by an evil spirit and a folklore professor named Yeom Haesang (Oh Jungse) who sees ghosts, as they investigate mysterious deaths. But it’s not just another ghost thriller filled with gruesome scenes for drama and little else. It’s packed with substantial societal commentary, rich cultural themes, and universal human lessons. Much can be learned not only from the compelling plot but also from the way it unfolded in accordance with Kim’s skilled storytelling style.
Misdirection and revelation
Throughout the entire series, events and characters are employed to misdirect the viewers before the truth is finally revealed. In Episode 1, the viewers are led to think that the child in a blue cap was killed by the evil spirit in control of Sanyeong’s body, until it is revealed that he actually tripped and fell to his death while being chased. In Episode 4, the viewers learn that the evil spirit that has possessed Gu Sanyeong was once a child who was killed because the villagers of Jangjin-ri believed doing so would protect them from famine and disaster. However, it is revealed in Episode 7 that the shaman who killed her was actually paid a great sum by an emerging company to create the evil spirit. Viewers are led to believe that the evil spirit is Lee Mokdan, until the 9th episode. The succeeding episodes reveal that the evil spirit is actually Lee Hyangi, her older sister. This constant series of misdirection and revelation constantly surprises the viewers as well as captures their attention and imagination.
Cultivating empathy for a villain
Kim’s writing made it so that the viewers feel viscerally how evil this spirit is. It is cold, unforgiving, and self-motivated. It has brutally taken dozens of lives since 1958. However, it also becomes clear to the viewers that this evil spirit was once human too–with flaws, desires, and traumatic experiences. In Episode 9, when police detective Lee Hongsae meets the evil spirit, he gets to observe how she acts. She gets annoyed by little children, she’s prone to mood swings, and shows signs she “lacked attention.” He adds that, “She had the nature typical of a child but she wasn’t one. She separated herself from children when speaking about them. She wasn’t a child but she wasn’t an adult either. She was something in between. She acted like someone going through puberty.”
Later on, the evil spirit says unhappily, “I wish at least one person would like me.”
In the final episode, in a desperate attempt to save herself, the evil spirit implores Professor Yeom Haesang.
“We wanted to live. We even ate bark to survive. My parents even sold off their child. We tried our best to survive. But you all…want to die. That brat Gu Sanyeong did as well. She was lonely and struggling. So she wanted to die. She had no idea what true loneliness and pain was like. She wanted to let go of a life I desperately yearned to have. Then let me live her life instead. I’ll work hard and do everything I want in this life. So spare me.”
As short revelations distributed throughout the last few episodes reveal the evil spirit’s name–Hyangi–and the injustices and suffering she had faced in her short life that was cut short by capitalist greed, the viewers come to understand her motivations for the evil she has done. Her background in no way justifies her actions, but simply adds another complex human element to the story of what has so far been an evil and calculating ghost.
From a third-party perspective, viewers get to observe the similarities and differences between the struggles of a young adult in 1958 and 2023 as they are juxtaposed together. Through the evil spirit’s lines, they get to understand how these young women perceive themselves and their lives. All of these lead the viewers to introspect about the fortune that they have in contrast to others’ misfortunes. This is one of the several recurring themes throughout the drama that tie the story together and give it a deeper meaning.
Suicide and survival
The series tackles several social issues and themes, but the two that stood the most out to me were the ones about suicide and survival.
In Episode 3, we witness the deaths of three college students who had hung themselves. At first, the peculiar nature of their triple suicide makes it seem as if they had been influenced by supernatural forces. However, upon investigation, it becomes apparent that the common factor in their suicides were the loan sharks that constantly harassed them and subjected them to extreme psychological anguish. Their deaths tell a lot about the financial struggles of young people in South Korea, their desperation, and the dangers they face when loan sharks target them. A police officer in Gwangcheon summarized it best, “Life is hard for young people these days.”
This case reflects how suicide rates in the real world is shaped by societal factors. The lens of sociological imagination allows one to realize that their similar deaths were caused not only by the loan sharks, but also because of the difficult circumstances they’d been born into, like the high debt rates that plague South Korean society.
These societal pressures combine with other personal factors to influence an individual to have suicidal ideation or commit suicide. Revenant makes it clear that while there are uncontrollable forces that may influence one to commit suicide, there are some things we do that support these forces, in the end hurting ourselves.
At the end, while trapped in the mirror due to the evil spirit’s deception, Sanyeong realizes that she was her own enemy, and she had treated herself cruelly. Flashbacks to the first episode showcase her struggles as a “young person who had no money” is coupled with her profound realization. “I had never lived solely for myself, not even for a moment. I had never made a decision or gone to a place solely because I wanted to. Why…and for whom…did I mistreat myself so cruelly? The one who dragged me into the darkness was none other than myself. I was killing myself.” she says.
But Revenant is not just a story about suicide. It’s also about another force that is constantly present beside it–the struggle to survive.
Every character did what they could to survive according to their ideas and goals–albeit they didn’t always use the most ethical way to do so. Professor Yeom Haesang’s grandmother ordered for the evil spirit to be made so she could amass wealth. Professor Gu Gangmo used the evil spirit so that he could avoid going blind from a rare case of optic atrophy. Meanwhile, Haesang just wanted justice for his mother who had passed away horribly in front of his eyes when he was young. Gu Sanyeong wanted to get rid of the evil spirit to protect her loved ones and avoid hurting anyone else. The series showcased the constant struggle between life and death and the kinds of wars that take place within oneself.
Paired with a breathtaking view of the traditional Korean fireworks festival, Gu Sanyeong’s poetic ending line perfectly captures the spirit of the show. “Okay. I will strive to survive.” It’s a poignant and fitting ending for a show that was filled with so much tragedy, leaving the viewers with a hopeful message about how light eventually comes to defy the darkness.
Personal Implications
On a personal note, I enjoyed Revenant not only because of how entertaining it was but also because it made me think a lot about the potential of television to express meaningful and relevant themes as well as showcase the beauty and uniqueness of a culture. Throughout the series, the viewers get to learn about the different kinds of ritual music and festivals that still contribute to the unique heritage of South Korea today.
I hope that my country, the Philippines, is also one day able to produce a story with as much entertainment and educational value as Revenant. We, too, have a very colorful precolonial history that is often overshadowed by national narratives and celebrations about our country’s resistance against invaders and our colonial past. It’s time for us to define ourselves not through what we have lost but through who we are. In the words of a good friend of mine, “We are not what has been taken from us.”
