Hong Kong movie star Zhou Lun-fa (周潤發, 68), known as ‘Eternal Big Brother’. He visited Korea for the first time in 14 years since 2009 after winning the Asian Film Actor Award at the opening ceremony of the 28th Busan International Film Festival (BIFF) on the 4th. In the special exhibition ‘Chow Yun-Fat’s True Colors of a Hero’, in addition to the new comedy family film ‘One More Chance’, ‘The True Colors of a Hero’ (1986) and ‘Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon’ (2000), which are considered his representative works, are featured. It was screened and brought back memories from fans.
Zhou Lunfa’s long-awaited visit to Korea itself was news, but his remarks at the press conference were unusual. Not only did it cause a significant political stir in Hong Kong and China, but it also had a refreshing resonance among Koreans. Beyond being a world-famous star actor who became famous through noir films in his youth, he clearly showed the demeanor of a courageous intellectual.
The first topic he raised was non-possession. When asked about the background of his pledge to donate 5.6 billion Hong Kong dollars (about 960 billion won), he wittily joked, saying, “It was not me, but my wife who donated. So I don’t know exactly how much I donated.” His wife, Chen Huilian (陳薈蓮, 64), is the daughter of a large Chinese businessman in Singapore.
World-famous movie star with a frugal outlook on life
An intellectual who defended Hong Kong’s freedom
A ‘mirror’ that reflects the dark side of Korean society
Zhou Runpa said, “I brought nothing with me when I came to this world, so it doesn’t matter if I take nothing with me when I leave. All I need is two bowls of rice a day.” This is a reference to the Buddhist teaching of ‘empty hand, empty hand, empty hand.’ Born into a poor family on the coast of Hong Kong, he debuted at the age of 18 and reigned as a star for 50 years, but he was respected for his frugality, taking the bus and subway to buy daily necessities at traditional markets.
Coincidentally, on the 6th, a situation occurred in the National Assembly of the Republic of Korea where the appointment of a candidate for Chief Justice of the Supreme Court was rejected for the first time in 35 years due to property issues. It is a tragic incident that the candidate for the highest judicial office, who should set a moral example more than anyone else, failed due to family property issues. It is embarrassing to even compare it to Zhou Runpa’s lack of ownership because there are concerns about the aftereffects such as the absence of the Supreme Court Chief Justice and delayed trials.
Another value that Zhou Lunpa awakened was freedom. When asked at a press conference about Korean films continuing the golden age of Hong Kong cinema, he said, “The greatest competitiveness of Korean films is freedom. “The subject matter is wide and creative freedom is high,” he said. Regarding the reason for the stagnation of Hong Kong films, he said, “A lot has changed since 1997 (when Hong Kong was returned to China). There are many demands for censorship from China. “To make a movie, you have to get approval from various ministries,” he revealed. However, he added, “Hong Kong film directors try to make movies that keep the ‘Hong Kong spirit’ alive, even though it is very difficult.”
His expression was dark as he talked about the reality of freedom being suppressed due to China’s forced introduction of the ‘Hong Kong Security Law’ in 2020, and he attracted attention by answering in English rather than Chinese (Cantonese) at this point. His volatile remarks, which exposed Hong Kong’s lack of freedom, were transmitted around the world, but were immediately blocked and deleted in China.
In fact, Zhou Lunpa is not a democracy fighter, but he has consistently shown his words and actions in defense of democracy and freedom in Hong Kong. In 2014, he was placed on the Chinese authorities’ ‘blacklist’ for supporting the Hong Kong democracy movement during the ‘Umbrella Revolution’, and in 2019, on the first day of the announcement of the ‘mask ban law’, which banned protesters from wearing masks, he showed his will to protest by jogging on the streets wearing a black mask. showed. His behavior was very different from Hong Kong actor Cheng Long (成龍, 69), who made a lot of money by appearing in many Chinese films, perhaps thanks to his praise for President Xi Jinping and his pro-China voice.
Freedom is like air, you don’t know how precious it is when you fully enjoy it, but if it disappears for a moment, you can’t breathe and soon you suffocate. “In fact, freedom is sometimes threatened even in Korea,” I would like to whisper to Zhou Runpa. This is because totalitarian countries are neighboring countries, and there are many forces within Korean society that sympathize with them. Instead of fighting for the freedom of North Korean compatriots suffering from the oppression of human rights by the feudal hereditary regime, they quickly enacted the ‘North Korea leaflet ban law’ as if carrying out an order, and were criticized as ‘Kim Yo-jung’s law under Kim Yo-jung’s orders.’
Zhou Lunfa’s short visit to Korea this fall left an eerie lingering feeling, like the romantic film ‘Autumn’s Fairy Tale’ (1987) in which he starred. He, who has been running marathons for 7 years, ran in Busan, breathing the free morning sea air. He said that on the 19th of next month he will participate in the half marathon competition to be held in Hong Kong. I hope he and the people of Hong Kong can escape the ‘cage’ and enjoy freedom. I hope Zhou Runpa can come back to Korea during his lifetime and meet the fans who support him. “Zhou Dage (周大哥), Zaijian (Goodbye)!”
Sejeong Jang ([email protected])
