Scars, Tattoos, Flags and Exorcism

From the potent image of a corpse embroidered with Japanese cherry blossoms in The Silenced (2015) through to the Kyokujitsu tattoo/scar forced on the protagonist of I Can Speak (2017), this chapter highlights how the recurring motifs of physical wounds and scars across several Rising Sun films act as metaphor for the psychological wounds generated by Korea’s colonial experience in that they remain visible, irremovable and painful to behold. Furthermore, prompted by I Can Speak ’s Kyokujitsu tattoo/scar, this chapter also illustrates how the Rising Sun flag for example, used as décor in The Age of Shadows (2016) and The Battleship Island (2017), visually affront viewers thus prompting anti-Japanese sentiment to aid South Korean cinema’s speaking back to the former coloniser.