earticle

영어

This paper investigates the narrative ending structures of six major South Korean films about the Korean War produced since 2000, a period in which the genre has shifted from Cold War anti-communist ideology to a perspective framing the conflict as a national tragedy. As the Korean War remains a historically unresolved event, concluded by an armistice rather than a peace treaty, this study focuses on how these films strategically employ narrative closure. Using the theoretical frameworks of Roland Barthes’s narrative codes (hermeneutic and proairetic) and Richard Neupert’s typology of film endings, this paper analyzes the micro-level mechanics and macro-level structures of cinematic closure. The analysis reveals two opposing strategies. The first is the closed textstructure, seen in films like Taegukgi: The Brotherhood of War, 71: Into the Fire, and Operation Chromite. These films provide ideological certainty and emotional catharsis by framing tragic sacrifices within a nationalistic context or constructing heroic myths, thereby offering a definitive meaning to the historical trauma. The second strategy is the open story structure, employed by films such as Welcome to Dongmakgol, The Front Line, and The Battle of Jangsari. Through ambiguity, unresolved questions, and nihilistic circularity, these narratives critique the absurdity of war, challenge official histories, and leave the ethical task of memory and commemoration to the audience. Ultimately, this paper contends that these ending structures are not mere aesthetic choices but active strategic devices that reflect South Korean society’s complex and ongoing negotiation with its unresolved national trauma, historical memory, and ideological conflicts.