One of Mickey 17‘s early story beats is driven by a well-worn South Korean trope, but the movie still manages to instill some novelty by spinning the trope into a unique yarn. Like most Bong Joon Ho movies, Mickey 17 does not shy away from bending genres and defying many conventions of storytelling. Throughout its runtime, the film introduces many narrative twists and turns that a viewer can never foresee. However, in all of its unique explorations of idenтιтy, class divides, and capitalism, the South Korean movie ends up using a very familiar trope.

The trope in question has been widely used in many shows, movies, and even manhwas, making it hard not to wonder why it has been so prevalent in South Korean media. One of Bong Joon Ho‘s previous movies also adopted the trope, raising many questions about its potential cultural relevance. While Mickey 17 cannot be defined by one particular trope, it is interesting to explore why it treads the same path as many other Korean shows and movies with one of its storytelling devices.

Mickey 17 Repeats One Of The Most Common South Korean Media Tropes

It Is One Of The Many Movies & Shows With The Evil Debt Collector

In Mickey 17‘s opening arc, Robert Pattinson’s character agrees to become an “Expendable” and escape Earth to go to the ice-planet Niflheim because he hopes to run away from a murderous loan shark. Owing to his initial inability to understand what his job as an “Expendable” would involve, Mickey lands himself in serious trouble just to be able to get away from the evil debt collector. Mickey 17 is not the first South Korean story to use a character’s desperation and crushing debt as a catalyst to enter a new chaotic world.

Many TV shows, like Bloodhounds and What’s Wrong With Secretary Kim, and movies like Pietà, Twenty-Five Twenty-One, and Pawn have featured similar story beats where characters find themselves in the crosshairs of vicious loan sharks. Even Bong Joon Ho’s Parasite features an arc in which a character, Geun-sae, hides from loan sharks. One of the most viral South Korean shows, Squid Game, also revolves around many characters in mᴀssive debt who are forced to risk their lives and compete in the тιтular games just to be able to repay their loans to dangerous loan sharks.

Why The Evil Debt Collector Trope Is So Common In South Korean Media

The Trope Seems To Reflect A Real-World Issue

According to studies, debt is a major issue in South Korea. The nation’s debt-to-GDP ratio has hit a record high in recent years, ranking South Korea among the countries with the fastest-growing household and government debt in the world (via Asia News). By highlighting a common man’s struggles with the growing debt crisis, the South Korean media only seem to reflect the harsh economic realities faced by many. This explains why the evil debt collector trope has become so common in Korean TV shows, movies, and manwhas.

Although Bong Joon Ho‘s movies unfold in wildly imaginative and fantastical settings, they often share anti-capitalistic and socially conscious themes. For instance, Snowpiercer, Parasite, and even Mickey 17 criticize class stratification, wealth inequality, and other real-world economic systems that promote exploitation. Owing to this, it is not surprising that the director also adopts the evil loan shark trope in Mickey 17. However, in Mickey 17‘s case, the trope is also narratively convenient since it gives Robert Pattinson’s character a solid reason to sacrifice his body autonomy.

Despite Its Familiarity, Mickey 17 Makes The Debt Collector Trope Work

It Uses The Trope To Set Up Several Unique Story Beats

Because of its use of the evil debt collector trope, Mickey 17 might seem familiar in its opening moments. However, the film takes many novel twists and turns as it progresses and introduces many never-seen-before story threads that one can never predict as a viewer. For instance, even though the movie’s main character, Mickey, predictably lands in serious trouble because of his inability to pay back the loan shark, his story takes an unexpected route when he ends up on a different planet to run away from the debt collector and becomes the subject of a bizarre set of cloning experiments.

Despite playing around with a familiar trope in its early moments, Mickey 17 becomes something else entirely the more it progresses. In its ending arc, the film has almost nothing to do with a character struggling to pay off his debt as it dabbles more with questions about what it means to be human and how the powerful exploit those they deem “expendable.“ Therefore, even though Mickey 17 adopts a well-known trope to set up its main storyline, it can be forgiven because it eventually heads toward unimaginable narrative directions.