The purpose of this paper is to explore the way Shakespeare is alluded to contemporary Korean films, especially The Man Standing Next (2020), to argue that indirect adaptation of, or hommage to, Shakespeare’s texts and characters is often used to speak of film interpretations as well as a means of political responses to the present day. Despite an apparent booming of Shakespearean stage production in Korea, Shakespeare films have attracted relatively little interests from Korean screenwriters, producers, and directors. Recent allusions to Shakespeare made by the Korean film industry draws our attentions to some aspects of Korea Shakespeare films which have not been much discussed in the past. As seen from cases of Korean films like Parasite and Kingdom, we encounter Shakespeare, or read Shakespearean theme of ‘hunger’ from Korean story format in Korean settings. They signal the potential booming of Korean film adaptations of Shakespeare in near future.
Keywords: Hunger, K-Zombie, Korean film, Shakespeare film, The Man Standing Next
