Moving Beyond Exorcism

Building on Kang Nae-hui’s ultimate rejection of “exorcism” as a desirable postcolonial strategy, this chapter examines two Rising Sun films that deal with the exorcism phenomenon literally. Juxtaposing the catastrophic impact of The Wailing ’s shamanic rituals with the healing exorcism that concludes ‘Comfort Woman’ melodrama, Spirits’ Homecoming , reveals how the latter film articulates Kang’s preferred strategy of “endurance” to co-exist with unwanted ghosts and therefore more effectively transcends traumatic colonial experiences. Independent and therefore aberrational, Spirits’ Homecoming nevertheless engages with some of the Rising Sun cycle’s recurring Japanese motifs yet still found financial success. Yet, the unwillingness of chaebol to consider Spirits’ Homecoming ’s potential to revitalise the cycle suggests a reluctance to engage with alternate postcolonial strategies at the box office.