This film takes a while to get going and even then might mislead you into believing that it’s a historical account of the persecution of Catholics in Joseon-era Korea. It’s much more than that, amounting to essentially championing Western enlightenment values. At the same time it is respectful towards the teachings of Confucianism even if it is skeptical that Confucian values are really being practiced. I’m was shocked that it’s at least partially based on a true story as the historical Jeong Yak-jeon did indeed get exiled and spent that time writing Korea’s first treatise on marine life. This feels like yet another film that was perfectly tuned to accord with my own values, so yes, I loved it and I’m amazed that it even exists.

A courtier Jeong Yak-jeon is exiled to the remote Black Mountain Island after the more tolerant king passes away for being a Catholic. A brother of his is executed and another brother is exiled to another location. The island is extremely poor and Jeong is taken in by a middle-aged widow. As he explores the island, encountering many species of marine life he has never seen before, he gets to know a local fisherman Jang Chang-dae. Though Jang has never been formally educated, he has taught himself to read and has an encyclopedic knowledge of all of the wildlife around the island from diligent observation. Impressed by this knowledge, Jeong resolves to write a treatise documenting the marine life in the area. In exchange, Jeong tutors the younger man on the classics of literature that all gentlemen are expected to know. He learns that Jang is actually the illegitimate son of a nobleman and yearns to be properly literate so that he can pass the exams to be an official courtier. Over the course of their relationship, Jang learns more about Jeong’s views which emphasize scientific knowledge, curiosity about the world at large and skepticism about the feudal nature of the kingdom they live in.

Biographical films usually follow a recognizable formula so it’s kind amazing to me that I never realized that this was actually one such film at all. At first it seems like it’s about Catholics being persecuted, then it focuses on the master-student relationship between Jang and Jeong and their enthusiastic work on the treatise, later on their political differences after Jang is fully trained, and before you know it, an entire lifetime has gone by. It works so well because the individual details of Jeong’s life in exile are shown but largely glossed over in favor of the larger themes of Confucianism’s place in Korea and the tension between tradition and openness to new sources of wisdom and knowledge. Don’t get me wrong though as those personal details, such as Jeong’s burgeoning relationship with the woman who hosts him, are still important, they’re just handled subtly with minimal fuss. I feel that the film only really gets going once Jeong arrives on the island but once he does it’s totally engrossing. The black and white cinematography is simple but beautiful and I suppose works as a shortcut to accentuate the film’s historical nature.

That the film champions the scientific spirit of discovery seems indisputable. In addition to numerous shots of Jeong and Jang dissecting various species to find out what makes them tick, there is a brief interlude about a local villager returning home after being lost at sea and presumed dead for years. He tells a story about the storm blowing him to Macau and then eventually arriving in the Philippines. Rather than brave the seas again, he makes his way to China and travels overland to get back home to Korea. Jeong is immediately fascinated and resolves to record this remarkable journey for posterity. This basically signals openness to foreign cultures and foreign knowledge. On his end, Jang is surprised by Jeong’s interest and considers his specialist knowledge a natural part of living day-to-day as a fisherman. Where things get interesting is where the two oppose each other on sociopolitical organization. Jang is conservative and valorizes Confucianism whereas Jeong considers it one source of wisdom amongst many. Jang believes that Confucianism holds the kingdom together but as Confucianism prescribes deference to authority figures, it is inimical to the spirit of free inquiry. As Jeong eventually reveals, he wants nothing less than a Korea that has no king and that is not an opinion that can ever be allowed to be spread by the establishment.

So in addition to being a biography, this is actually a very political film. Those are even harder to pull off as it’s so easy to come across as being shrill and preachy. It helps here that this is actually a tragedy as Jeong’s philosophical views were too far ahead of his time to gain any traction. But mostly it’s strong enough as a drama about the intertwined lives of its two leads that the political themes fit naturally. I expect that the political side of things is purely fictional and it doesn’t seem that Jang was ever a real person but then this isn’t a documentary. I’ve never watched any of the work of director Lee Joon-ik before so I suppose I should start paying attention.