I participated in the online screening of “Seobok (서복)”, a movie directed by Lee Yong Zoo, provided by the Korean Cultural Center in Canada. The brief synopsis of the film explains how a former secret service agent is tasked with providing safety to the first-ever human clone created, one that can also bring a cure to death itself. Since I personally love sci-fi movies, the theme of the film seemed very captivating to me, so I was excited to watch it. 

From the first few minutes of the film, I was impressed by the directing of each part and how the action scenes were unveiled. The 1 hour 50 minutes of running time seemed far shorter due to the thrilling adventure the director brought to the viewers. 

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What I enjoyed the most were the questions raised throughout the movie. The main theme prevalent throughout was the idea of life and death and the ethical implications that come with possessing the ability of cloning another human being. I thought to myself often while watching if the main character is making the right choice. Should cloning exist, is it ethical and should humans play the role of nature with the ability to control death. 

Several lines in the film were memorable such as stating that death makes us human and if we were immortal the human species would cease to exist, as greed would take over everyone. I found that very profound as I had not really thought about the psychological changes that would ensue should humanity reach the ability to defy death and become immortal. 

The movie posited that death gives us a meaning to life, a reason to want to accomplish our goals, and without death, we would have no reasons to live anymore, ironically enough. Watching this film left me thinking deeper about my own fears and meanings in life.

Throughout the movie we are being shown more aspects of the clone that will leave the viewer wondering if clones indeed possess human qualities. If a clone is created, does that make it less human? The connection formed between the secret agent and the clone is something interesting to observe as the film progresses. 

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The usage of the sea elements and the white doves also carry symbolisms in the film that we can associate with the need for peace in the world and perhaps acceptance of our own impending death. 

Lastly, I thought about the uniqueness of the name used for the film - Seobok. This name comes from a Chinese person who was tasked to find a potion for the Emperor that granted immortality, according to the legend. Yet again, we see the need for humanity to find a way to defy death. 

I highly recommend you watch it if you want an action-packed couple of hours with a profound lesson to be learned at the end. 

Thank you for reading. 

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*All images are courtesy of hancinema.net 
 

#seobok @koreanculturalcentercanada #kcinema #koreanculture #서복 

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