The (past) immigrant experience
Changing trends in South Korea blur Minari's reception in its home country
The heartfelt Korean immigrant tale in Minari resonated with many Asian Americans, but for some in South Korea the film presents a far-too-dated view of immigration to the U.S.
Minari, directed by a Korean-american, is nominated for six Oscars, including best picture, best director and best supporting actress for Yuh-jung Youn, a historic first for a Korean.
Released during the pandemic, its Korean elements and its Oscar nominations helped make it a commercial success in South Korea, where it brought in US$7 million of its total $11 million global box office receipts, compared with $2 million from showings in the U.S. and Canada, IMDB says.
In Minari, the tale of a hard-luck immigrant farming family in rural Arkansas in the 1980s highlights the heyday of immigration from South Korea to the U.S.
Today, however, it's a tale increasingly unfamiliar to many South Koreans, especially younger people.
About 350,000 Koreans were estimated to have immigrated to the U.S. in the 1980s.
The annual tally peaked in 1986, at 30,500, slowing to 8,000 a year in the 2000s, and then to about 4,000 after Washington tightened borders after the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks, South Korea's foreign ministry says.
Racial tensions, highlighted by a recent Atlanta shooting that killed four Koreans, and the high coronavirus cases and deaths in the U.S., have also cooled the idea of living there, said Park Soo-hui.
Park, 69, said the film reminded her of the hardships her relatives suffered after moving to the U.S. in the early 1990s. But her teenage granddaughter had a different thought.
“They left hoping for a better life as they were not doing well here, and they went through a lot in their early days, including racial discrimination and family disputes,” she said.
“But as we watched the film together, my granddaughter was just envious, saying not everyone could go there.”