[The Second Take] "Let's Live Well" Sung by Those Who Went Astray

Haenyeo in the Film "Smuggling" Turn to Smuggling After Seafood Pollution
The Fruits of Rapid Growth in the 1970s Were Enjoyed Only by the Successful

"Look, look, look, look. You can't even get this in Japan." "Unni! Why are you showing me that? I didn't even pass this item on the Patti Kim show, oh my! Unni, this scarf is really a no-go. I'm really in trouble." "Well, then you shouldn't have brought it."

In the movie Smuggling, Jo Chun-ja (Kim Hye-su) sells high-end imported goods to wealthy housewives. Coats, scarves, magazines, perfumes, shoes... all smuggled items. They were brought in on a massive scale by bribing or deceiving customs officers or evading their watch. With these, wealthy households set elegant dinners, and fashionistas adorned themselves from head to toe. The rapid economic growth of the 1970s awakened consumer desires and encouraged people to dress stylishly. As a result, whether legal or illegal, there was a clear tendency to prefer imported goods.

This trend was also prominent in 19th-century America. According to Peter Andreas, a political science professor at Brown University, in his book Smuggler Nation: How Illicit Trade Made America, the cosmopolitan trend in New York high society arose from imitating foreign cultures. This was made possible through smuggling. At the time, upper-class women bought various outfits from Europe, including France and England, at great expense. Despite high tariffs, their consumer desires were fiercely expressed. It was no surprise that they thought smuggling was necessary to keep up with ever-changing seasonal fashions.

The United States during the Great Boom era was known as a nation of shoppers. More precisely, a nation of illegal shoppers. Although it is unclear how the figures were calculated, the U.S. Customs Service estimated that during the 1872?1873 fiscal year, 36,830 travelers smuggled foreign goods worth $128,905,000 (approximately $2.8 billion in today's prices). Most were hidden in clothing. From shoes to hats, anything that could be concealed was used in some way. Women had an advantage in this regard. They hid items in flowing skirts, elegant hats, or hair accessories. Harper's New Monthly Magazine reported, "Women have better conditions to act as smugglers than men. The more complex the clothing, the easier the business."

In Smuggling, the women who secretly bring in goods are even more enterprising. They are haenyeo, female divers who dive underwater to gather sea cucumbers, abalones, and the like. They skillfully retrieve smuggled goods through adept diving. They had no initial intention of engaging in crime. When a nearby factory was established, seafood became polluted, making it difficult to make a living. The smuggled goods they handled went to those who achieved economic success. At the time, the government focused on fostering and increasing exports in the heavy and chemical industries?the very entities that obstructed the fishermen's livelihoods.

On closer examination, there were plenty of victims. Due to concentrated investment in heavy and chemical industries, light industries suffered production shortages, and rural communities gradually collapsed. In the industrial sector, intense labor increased. The average monthly working hours of simple production workers rose from 217 hours in 1975 to 223 hours in 1980. Wage disparities based on education, occupation, company, and gender deepened, bringing social polarization issues to the forefront. This was in stark contrast to the wholesome song "Let's Live Well" featured in Smuggling.

"Let's live well. Let's live well. Let's live well once too. / If we cultivate our beautiful country of mountains and rivers with one heart / Frugal housekeeping and fun will naturally bring wealth and glory to us. / Let's live well. Let's live well. Let's live well once too. Let's live well."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.