The ending of the zombie film “Colony” could be replicated with the factional warfare and YouTube-driven loyalty inside the liberal party as it pulls politics away from public concerns.
Writer Yoo Si-min speaks with former President Moon Jae-in at the Dolbegae-Pyeongsan Bookstore booth during the Seoul International Book Fair at Coex in southern Seoul on June 25. Yoo, who served as a minister under the late President Roh Moo-hyun, is known as a staunch supporter of Roh, Moon and Jung Chung-rae, a leading figure in the liberal camp.NEWS1
Kim Seung-hyun
The author is an editorial writer at the JoongAng Ilbo.
We live in an age in which zombies keep evolving. In early zombie films, the grotesque creatures could barely control their limbs. Now they run. To satisfy increasingly demanding audiences, filmmakers have made them faster and more terrifying. Yet even zombies with the speed of Kylian Mbappé no longer seem novel. The Korean film “Colony,” released in May and still showing in some theaters, offers another upgrade. As its title suggests, director Yeon Sang-ho gives zombies the ability to communicate and creates a new horror rooted in hierarchy and obedience.
As the old saying goes, people are the most frightening creatures of all. The more zombies resemble humans, the more unsettling they become. In “Colony,” the zombies form a collective linked by a slime-like substance resembling animal pheromones. Watching the film, one cannot help but think of the recent infighting within the Democratic Party (DP) ahead of its Aug. 17 convention.
The zombies in the film obey their leader without question. Once a message is transmitted, they charge forward without hesitation. The spectacle inevitably recalls the factions aligned with President Lee Jae Myung and former party leader Jung Chung-rae, which have openly acknowledged the power struggle known as the “Myung-Chung war.”
The resemblance is especially striking in the communication style of writer Yoo Si-min, who presents himself as a spokesman for the pro-Chung camp. Their pheromone is YouTube. After Yoo sharply criticized Lee with his argument that the administration was destined to fail, influential figures within the faction quickly joined the debate. On Tuesday, Yoo again argued that President Lee was responsible for the confusion surrounding legislation to abolish prosecutors’ investigative powers.
As viewership surges, YouTubers race ahead and their messages spread. What begins as an appeal to the DP's 1.5 million members threatens to engulf the nation’s 50 million.
Reasonable people may well ask whether they should be swept into this vortex. Why is it unacceptable to oppose abolishing supplementary investigations? The messages urging blind loyalty to factional causes are powerful, but their logic often appears thin.
The argument runs as follows: The Lee administration is the “second candlelight government,” entrusted with completing the unfinished reforms of the Moon Jae-in Blue House. Yet it is accused of abandoning its original mission. Instead of expanding the legacy of the first candlelight government, critics say, Lee is trying to rebuild it in his own image.
Asked why abolishing supplementary investigations is necessary, broadcaster Kim Eo-jun, an influential figure among pro-Chung YouTubers, replied that “we are the bereaved family of Roh Moo-hyun.” DP floor leader Han Byung-do echoed that sentiment Tuesday, saying that supporters still carry the pain of having failed to protect the former president.
The message seems to demand that followers keep marching while looking only at the backs of those ahead of them.
Public discourse centered on factional interests is increasingly diverging from the concerns of ordinary citizens. Are people wrong to worry about abolishing supplementary investigations after witnessing the Jang Yun-gi case, in which police officers stand accused of mishandling evidence? Is the tragedy that befell former President Roh during a prosecutorial investigation sufficient justification for restructuring the criminal justice system? Should the anguish of the parents of Lee Chae-won, the student Jang is accused of murdering, rank below that of Roh’s family?
Questions continue to pile up, yet convincing answers remain elusive. One law professor who participated in the government’s prosecution reform committee lamented that the party appeared to be “under a spell.”
The pro-Lee faction fares little better. Is it normal for politicians pursuing party leadership and nomination power to lose sight of both allies and the public?
Near the end of “Colony,” viewers encounter the phenomenon known as an “ant mill,” or a death spiral. Because of an error in pheromone communication, army ants mistake those in front for the path ahead and march endlessly in circles until they die.
If the ruling party’s conflict ends in a similarly grim fashion, the entire country will suffer. After securing the support of a majority of party members, it is time to stop the zombie-like sprint and find a way out of the spiral.
This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
