If not, years from now the rest of Asia may be pondering its lost decade. They had the same physical characteristics, spoke the same lingo, moved in rhythm to the same pop songs pouring out from the same kind of Walkmans. In 1923, for example, the zainichi were blamed for the Great Tokyo Earthquake and executed randomly on the streets by sword-carrying policemen. And they're perfectly natural about it. Until this film, what went on within these walls was shrouded in mystery.
Fistfights are so common no one even thinks to interfere.
And the kids have no qualms about beating up a Japanese when provoked. Apparently, Li's quirky and light-hearted attitude is typical of his generation. Unburdened by or simply uninterested in history, the young zainichi lead lives similar to those of young Japanese and pretty much other youths all over the world. Li remembers an incident during his senior year in Korean high school. A classmate had her school uniform slashed by a commuter on the morning train.