South Korea's history as a fever dream of escalators, presidents, and American dreams gone sideways.
USA is something like a religious belief in Korean history since the liberation. A powerful essay film is born with archival footages and a compilation of images of the Korean modern society. The right film for a generation who's losing the knowledge of Korean modern history.
Editing
Jarring juxtapositions that rewire how you see Korean modernity.
Direction
Kim Kyung-man's patient, accusatory gaze never blinks.
Director
Kim Kyung-man
Syngman Rhee
Self (archive footage)
Dwight D. Eisenhower
Self (archive footage)
Park Chung-hee
Self (archive footage)
Jimmy Carter
Self (archive footage)
Chun Doo-hwan
Self (archive footage)
Ronald Reagan
Self (archive footage)
Kim Dae-jung
Self (archive footage)
Bill Clinton
Self (archive footage)
George W. Bush
Self (archive footage)
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
The title references both literal escalators as symbols of Korean modernization and the 'escalation' of US military and economic involvement.
Released during Park Geun-hye's presidency, the film's archival footage of her father Park Chung-hee carried explosive contemporary weight Korean audiences immediately understood.
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