Hayan miso

The 1970's saw a rise in the number of movies aimed at the younger generation in Korea. Many of these were in the form of Hong Kong-style "kung-fu" movies. The number of B-grade horror films increased and underwent an explosion in the 80's. But this time also saw the growth of the dramas written for and starring teens. Among the most successful of these was THE HIGHSCHOOL JOKER (1977) directed by Seok Rae-myeong and starring Lee Seung-hyeon. While it was not the first of its ilk, it was the most popular and others followed in rapid succession MARCH OF A JOKER, TOMBOYS, TALL BOY AND SHORT BOY, etc. These movies were alike in that the protagonists were allegedly the 'bad' students but were actually just mischievous or misunderstood. According to movie logic, these boys and girls just need a personal tragedy and/or an accomplishment of some form or another to prove themselves responsible and valuable members of society. WHITE SMILE fits firmly within the above genre definition. In this film however, the students seem even less like problem children than usual. True, the had prepared first-day pranks for their new teacher, but when she responds to them with a dazzling smile, most of the class is quickly won over by her good nature. One girl is so overcome that she bursts into tears out of guilt for passively participating in these tricks. So much for behavioral problems... However not all the students are immediately won over. There is still the class tough-guy who resists the teacher's charms. He acts sour and belligerent in school, but it is actually to mask a secret wound. He wants to be a boxer, but his jailed father forbids it. The rest of the story involves bad boys from a rival highschool, a budding romance, the tragic death of a classmate, the organization of a school band, a boxing match, and a happy ending. One point that sets this movie apart from some of the others in this genre is that the teachers were each given slight physical defects. The teacher whom the movie focuses on, Miss Yu Seon-hie (Geum Bo-ra), walks with a slight limp and her male counterpart stutters. (I have to note that there is really only one scene where the limp is pronounced enough to notice). These physical traits may have been added to humanize the teachers for the target audience in mind. The teachers in this movie never argue amongst each other or with the administration. This style of movie in its basic form can still be seen today. HARMONIUM OF MY MEMORY follows many of the rules of this genre and the movie ZZANG seems to have lifted its plot directly from WHITE SMILE, merely updating the characters for the late 90's. The majority of the cast went on to rather undistinguished careers, but writer Jeong Ji-yeong became very active in films, directing and producing some fairly recent movies including THE LIFE AND DEATH OF THE HOLLYWOOD KID, WHITE BADGE and NAKED BEING.