The South Korean film industry witnessed its peak in popularity after the release of Parasite in 2019, which addressed social inequality and wealth disparity within South Korean society. The popularity of films and shows with recognizable domestic social themes is not only shown through the success of Parasite, but other South Korean works as well. The series, Squid Game (2021), serves as a metaphor for the hardships South Korea’s working class face, and The Glory (2022), speaks to South Korea’s prolonged issue of violence in schools. The power South Korean cinema has over its audience lies not only in its ability to invoke empathy but also its ability to shine light on legislative deficiencies and the prolonged impact of traditional Confucious principles on East Asian societies. These films have brought attention to the deeply ingrained and pressing domestic social issues that otherwise would have persisted if not for South Korea’s democratic political system. 

The heart-breaking and realistic portrayal of school bullying in The Glory gained a wide-range of empathy within the South Korean population that raised significant governmental  awareness to implement new measures against bullying. Within half a year of the release of The Glory, the South Korean government announced the requirement that bullying records be made transparent and available in student applications to universities. The offender will now have to gain the victim's forgiveness in front of the school committee before they can withdraw from the school. Withdrawals, under the new policy, will no longer nullify the offender’s bullying record. 

It is not the first time the South Korean film industry influenced governmental legislation. In 2011, the film Silenced spread wide awareness of the lack of protection for the disabled. The film was based on teacher from the Gwangju Inhwa School for The Hearing Imparied, who repeatedly subjected their deaf students to sexual harassment. The film’s disturbing yet touching portrayal of the experience of the disabled spurred extreme public outrage that forced a reinvestigation of the Gwangju Inhwa School case and led to a revised bill that penalizes those who abuse the disabled. The “Dogani'' bill, named after the Korean name for the film Silenced, strengthened penalties for those who abuse the disabled and eliminated the narrow requirements needed to receive victim status. Initially only those considered to be “socially weak” (referring to women with disabilities and children under thirteen) were able to rule against their perpetrators. The bill also gave the police the freedom to investigate suspects without active allegations pressed by the victim. This served to negate the loopholes that perpetrators previously used, such as coercing victims and their families to drop allegations and to accept monetary compensation for shorter sentences as the perpetrators did in the Gwangju Inhwa School case. Similar loopholes are now being addressed by the South Korean Sentencing Commission, which announced in 2022 that letters of apology from perpetrators will have a smaller impact in court rulings. 

South Korea’s democratic political system is a key contributor to the success these films have over legislative changes. Though not a perfect democracy, South Korea’s political system possesses “robust political pluralism” that allows for democratic election cycles and power transitions. In other words, South Korean democracy enabled these films to serve as mechanisms for change. 

Though new legislatures reflect active governmental awareness and concern for domestic issues, the implementation and effectiveness of such measures are still to be determined. The need to gain the victim’s forgiveness before withdrawal, for example, is inherently vague and requires more rigid definitions. In other words, what sets the boundary between voluntary forgiveness and pressured forgiveness? How could we ensure unbiased committees? Will richer and more privileged offenders be treated differently? How can fairness be enforced? The plot of The Glory portrays these loopholes and how offenders can take advantage of them. The mother of Moon Dong-eun, the main victim of school violence, forcefully withdrew Dong-eun from school after being bribed by the offender’s parents. Dong-eun’s teacher’s reluctance to sacrifice school image for Dong-eun’s justice and his obsession to maintain his seniority in the teacher-student relationship also made him an indirect perpetrator of school bullying. The revised impact of apology letters announced by the Sentencing Commission is also vague and subject to different interpretations. In other words, how reduced would the impact of apology letters be? Can judges quantify the change?

The South Korean government should recognize that altering legislation is only the first step in achieving truly lasting change. The themes articulated in these films are societal concerns that have affected South Korea for decades, or even centuries given that its roots are embedded in South Korea’s history and culture. South Korean culture is shaped by Confucian principles that emphasize seniority and family. The long-lasting effects of such values can lead to hierarchical societies where justice can be overlooked by those that are more senior and therefore more “powerful” such as parents and teachers. The rather twisted power dynamic form makes bullying in South Korean society a common social norm that these films seek to discuss and adjust. Thus, tackling these social problems from the bottom-up would require a reinterpretation of traditional values and a redefinition of social norms. Ultimately, governments should focus on revising laws that reflect outdated Confucian values that no longer represent societal needs.