Review: A South Korean Film Explores Nativism and Authoritarianism After a Disaster

Concrete Utopia is a cautionary tale about the dangers of unchecked power under any circumstances.

A catastrophic earthquake wipes out the world, leaving a single apartment complex standing in the ruins of Seoul. The few survivors flock to this lone sanctuary, cut off from the world they once knew and waiting for help that will never come. Amid dwindling resources and cold temperatures, they struggle to survive.

In the Korean film Concrete Utopia, the remnants of society organize themselves within the apartment complex. The original residents elect a leader and assign roles for scavenging, rationing, and health care. Initially, this democratic approach offers hope. But as power dynamics solidify, the once-friendly neighborhood organization transforms into a totalitarian regime that rules through fear and oppression.

The regime expels non-natives who didn't originally live in the building, leaving them to fend for themselves in Seoul's desolate wreckage. Dissenters face harsh punishment—their doors are marked with red paint and they are subjected to public shaming. The leadership uses vital resources as a weapon, enforcing loyalty through controlling access to food, water, and medicine. Heavy surveillance and policing become the norm.

Concrete Utopia is not just a story of survival in an apocalyptic world. It is a cautionary tale about the dangers of unchecked power under any circumstances.

Comments

[Jerry B.]

All survivors are equal, but some are more equal than others.

[msdemeanor]

It would be nice when you review a film especially foreign films that you inform us where we can actually view it.

[mad.casual]

And, on a (nominally) libertarian forum, if you’re going to flub the movie review aspect of the story, you should probably learn the correct definition of the word ‘totalitarian’.

[BYODB]

A catastrophic earthquake wipes out the world, leaving a single apartment complex standing in the ruins of Seoul.

I...don't know what to make of this. It's a South Korean film so it's probably a better than average chance to be a nonsense flick but I feel like the author skipped over everything that a normal movie review would include to make that first sentence make sense.

Like, the whole world destroyed by an earthquake except one apartment building in South Korea? That...needs more explanation.

This feels like a 'review' that was written in about 15 minutes by someone that only half watched the movie.

In some fairness, it's a tired as fuck message that's been covered by much better things (RE: Animal Farm, Lord of the Flies, to name just two options that every high school student should have already read.)