Human Acts

In Human Acts, bodies are a powerful motif that serve as a stark reminder of the atrocities committed during the Gwangju Uprising. In Chapter 1, Dong-ho tends to the bodies of those killed by soldiers. In Chapter 2, bodies are stacked and left to rot in an empty lot, with some of their faces dipped in paint. The bodies of the victims are haunting reminders of the brutality of state violence and the way it strips individuals of their humanity.

These bodies are often described in vivid detail, with their wounds and injuries serving as physical markers of the violence inflicted on them. Despite lacking the stomach for it, Dong-ho cares for the corpse of a woman who was badly damaged by a bayonet slash across the face and torso, revealing raw flesh. In the Epilogue, the Writer sees a photograph of this same woman, and is forever impacted by the horror of what she witnesses. In contrast, the bodies of the perpetrators, such as the soldiers and police officers, are largely absent from the narrative, emphasizing the unequal power dynamic at play in the violence.