Lifting King Kong and Confucious Ideals
09 Mar 2011 Leave a Comment
in 2008 Korean Movie, Beom Soo Lee, Jo An Tags: Beom Soo Lee, Jo An, Quarter 3 2011
For today’s post, I want to talk about Lifting King Kong – the movie that I recently watched. It mainly highlights about Olympic ex-bronze weightlifting medalist, diligently training five teenaged girls, who had not exposed to weightlifting in their fifteen years of life. Through this movie, I have seen major relations ships that are found in Confucious ideal. The weight lifting coach, Ji Bong Lee, and his disciples demonstrate the relationship between father and son. Although the coach and his students are not related by blood and the students are not male, their relationship can be seen as father and son.
They indirectly carry out the ideals of filial piety that is frequently shown up in real relationships between a father and a son. For example, when Young Ja’s (one of Ji Bong’s disciples) grandmother dies, Ji Bong decides to take care of her even though they are not related; He is aware that there is no one to look after her, so he decides to take upon this father-like responsibility. Furthermore, the coach constantly shows parental caring towards his students. This is the part after his students were forced to change coaches. Ji Bong comes over to the new coach and tells him things that the new coach needs to be careful of when he is training the girls. He asks the new coach to take extra good care of them. The reason he does this is for sake of his students’ future for their good, completely unselfish. Such action reflect how the coach cares for his students as if they are his own daughters.
Furthermore, the students also think of their teacher as a father-figure. For instance, Young Ja asks Ji Bong to giver her away on her marriage day, a duty that is expected of a father. This implies that Young Ja, too, truly respects and loves the teacher dearly. Hence, the relationship can be seen as one of father and a son. The relationship between friends and friends appeared as well.Young Ja’s friends knows she is alone when the practice season is over,so the friends comes over to eat and hang out with her; this mean that Young Ja’s friends care about her dearly. A few minutes later, two other friends come over to see them because they need the consolation of friends; one of them had been humiliated at the competition and the other miss her dead father so much. When Young Ja and rest of the girls see the pain and the crying over their issues , they hug two other friends closely. This means that they are true friends who share their concerns and stand by each other when one is in need of someone.
By seeing the movie, carrying out numerous Confucius ideals, I realized that our society still has been greatly influenced by Confucian ideals. I learned that Confucian ideals indirectly influence teacher to be upright and growing children to e respectful and well behaved. As one who is growing up under confucian ideals, passed down from my ancestors, I am truly appreciative.
Photo Citation: 옌년. “Lifting King Kong”. 22 September 2010. Flickr. Web. 9 March 2011. <http://www.flickr.com/photos/44451941@N07/5016435685/>
