"Modern boys" or "Modern girls" are young people who were dressed stylishly and fashionably in Western style in the early Showa period(1926-). They were called "Mobo" or "Moga". Such people also appeared in Korea under Japanese rule. Among Japanese, Korean "Mobo" and "Moga" swaggered about downtown Seoul of those days. Historically, this was one of modernizing influence which the Korean society experienced. Korean people also enjoyed modernization under Japanese rule. "Modern Boy" is set in Seoul of those days.

In Korea, the official historical perspective have regarded the period under Japanese rule as the dark ages, which can have been described only as the age of "resistance and suppression".

Then when Japanese minister says that Japanese government had made some achievements under Japanese rule, a voice in protest, "He is a liar!", is raised from both the public and private sectors in Korea. This sometimes developed into a diplomatic matter, and Japanese minister was dismissed several times.

(bxninjin's note: Education minister Nakayama retired recently(2008/09) for his controversial remarks about Japan Teachers' Union and others.
In 2004, he has once made controversial statements about a history textbook and "comfort women".
Though he just said that emperor had no clothes on. )

But recently, there is a move to break away　from old simple "resistance and suppression" view of history or nationalistic view of history also in Korea. This movement is based on the concept that history should be thought from various perspectives, and is coming out from the book field, film world and theater world as "Seoul(Keijoh) boom", which accept as fact(Keijoh is the way of notation during Japanese rule.). We can actually call this Korean version of historical revisionism.

Tokyo modern girls of the 1920s

This movie "Modern Boy" had been selling a new historical view by such advertising copies as "Independence movement? Pro-Japan? Does it matter?" and "Korean new generation of the 1930s, cool romance　personified".　A mass medium review said "The key players behind the scenes are sights of the 1930s in the movie." and paid attention to surprisingly modern, cheerful and delightful scenes of Seoul.

Chungmuro of 1930s (Seoul)

On the premiere date, I went and saw this movie with a heart filled with excitement, but I was disappointed. This was a usual old-fashioned, anti-Japanese and nationalistic movie. The story goes like this. -(snip)- I could see the scenes of Mitsukoshi Department Store, cafes, Streetcars and modernized Seoul(Keijoh) City which were reproduced with CG. Fashions of Mobo and Moga and Swing dance were produced as "New culture". But its story was based only on the official historical perspective which have been described only as the age of "resistance and suppression". The modern boy had enjoyed the age under Japanese rule, but he empathized with the female terrorist. Then he was made awake as a nationalist at last!
Even Korean historical revisionist required such an ending.

In this movie, heroine was a nationalist, but the fact was ...

The same can be said for other movie, "Blue Swallow" which was much talked about last year as a precedent of 1930s' movies. This movie was based on a real person who is the first female civilian pilot in Korean Peninsula. This is a story of "Modern woman" who succeeded in liberation of women during Japanese rule. But in this movie, her lover was a terrorist who was resisting Japan. At last, she also became a nationalist.、

This is real Park Kyung-won. She is called "Empire of Japan's cheerleader".

These movies represent the historical perspective of Korea today. They still give preference to the history as it should be over the history as it really was. 。

"Wind of Seoul No.74 'Is this the limit of revisionism Japanese period?'" The article from November 12 issue of SAPIO magazine

Korean official view of history = "resistance and suppression" view of history fabricated by nationalism