Weak Hero, and the language of violence.
I watched a clip of Ocean Vuong talking to Seth Meyers about the language of so-called masculinity that is societally perpetuated in order to gender police what a masculine experience should be like. Then I watched Weak Hero and what a cerebral experience that turned out to be.
Not long into the first episode, in the lead up to the wanton brutality, I understood then, that Weak Hero was not a redemption narrative. It was a think piece, a supposition on the language of violence that people, specifically male presenting are required to be well-versed in. Through the course of the show, it didn't feel as though the characters were coming out of it better. They just survived, definitely not better and probably not worse, except for Beom Seok, maybe.
As is the standard in many of K-Dramas of this flavoring, shitty parents are a dime a dozen, parental and authoritative neglect is the name of the game and school is a human wasteland. What is implied through the relationships that the kids have with the oft off-screen adults is that the currency of violence is inherited, taught and traded by the people who are supposed to protect them.
The normalization and lack of concern on behalf of not just parents but entire institutions, in itself is a form of violence. When the po po's arrive after Si Eun calls them for help against actual gang members, and then promptly gaslight him into helplessness with sheer ineptitude, sets up this theme pretty early on.
Thus it is not only physical prowess that is highly valued as we see in Su Ho, but also the insidious kind of power that Beom Seok wields through the influence of his father. Even in Si Eun, his value only reveals itself when he applies his intellect to force.
What was interesting to me was how Beom Seok was so keen on partaking from the same fountain of prowess, only to be gatekept by Su Ho, who, for all intents and purposes wants to maintain status quo, perhaps out of concern of Beom Seok in whom he might have wanted to keep from sullying his softness, or perhaps out of a sense of self aggrandization in which Su Ho saw himself as everyone's protector. Most likely, he did not recognize Beom Seok's need to speak the same language of violence as everyone else because Su Ho's physical prowess afforded him the privilege of not having to think about it.
Thus the breakfast club of outcasts disintegrates pretty rapidly, fueled by jealousy, hate, and money.
Si Eun says to Su Ho, while waiting in the lunch line that he believes Beom Seok to be lonely. He doesn't have the words to articulate it (despite being highly intellectual) but he can only peripherally sense Beom Seok's loneliness. The following brutality is a testament to the heightened emotions, the abject terror of having to live through systemic horrors because there is no other way to catalyze it in other than the language they know best, violence.
In the aftermath of Si Eun's episode at the end of season one, the edge of brutality dulls off to a desperate attempt to hold on to his humanity. The stylings of power and force change its appearance into something more organized. In an attempt to mimic the power dynamics outside their little scholastic incubator, Baek Jin who has an early foray into the real world falls victim to it before the brutality in him crystallizes into a monster. He is birthed into that world too early and speaks the language of violence too well, but inexperience keeps him from wielding that power with lethality.
Interestingly, Jun Tak is written as the flipside of Beom Seok. He too is bullied but doesn't wait to be taken into the fold. He takes it on himself to find himself a safe space and actually works to keep it that way. He is weak, but he is not afraid to use violence to protect that which he values. In the mean time Beom Seok does not even know what he values, thanks to all that money and daddy influence, which he knows works in his favor.
Truth be told, I understood Baku to be the version of Su Ho that we wished Su Ho would be. He was not trained to be a martial artist and so he understood the role of violence as a currency in society. He did not reject violence, nor did he revel in it. It was a tool for him as well as his friends to wield. Violence is a means to an end, the end being protection of the people he loves. All this is revealed to us after Baku has to lessen himself to a more monstrous version of himself. He is barely human when he is forced to speak the language of violence.
Thus we are left with no 'warm feelings' at the end, other than maybe Su Ho. There is no sense of justice, no retribution. Only the after shocks of having survived.
All this to say, boys are not taught the language of care. Their speak is laden with violence, their brutality a manifestation of their isolation. Power is the only other language that they can comprehend and even then, a mighty pen can be sliced into two by a pretty mediocre sword.