The Age of Beasts is one episode of the KBS Archive Project Modern Korea documentary series, which collages KBS's extensive materials. The film consists of news, TV debates, and drama clips and conveys the lives and voices of women during the period from 1987 to 1994. Unlike other documentaries in the series, The Age of Beasts, unlike other episodes of the series, actively utilizes drama clips, as women's voices, often hard to find in the news, were embedded in contemporary dramas. To achieve this, director Jeong Jae-eun, not a KBS producer, takes charge of filmmaking, and Lee Mi-kyeong, Kwon Kim Hyeon-young, and HwangGeum Myeong-ryun appear as interviewers.
The title Beasts, as quoted in the film, is taken from Kim Bu-nam’s statement, “I didn’t kill a person. I killed a beast.” However, it also carries a layered meaning, reflecting the marginalized position of women still not fully respected as equal citizens in a “democratic society.” Despite abductions and human trafficking prevailing, and even rape not being recognized as a ‘serious crime,’ the law did not solve any problems. Female victims took matters into their own hands, and united women became the driving force behind the demand to enact the “Act on Special Cases Concerning the Punishment, etc. of Sexual Crimes.” The Age of Beasts reveals a history where women transformed from isolated victims to survivors and fighters through active solidarity. [KIM Sukyun]