In Ancuta’s article, ghosts in Asian societies are portrayed to coexist with the dead, living in apartments surrounded by cramped urban densities. I was interested in the concept of the “living ghost”, where individuals living in modern Metropolis are alienated, and how failed dreams of economic success through migration turn individuals into “ghosts”. I’m also fascinated by the interplay between the “living ghost” and “dead ghost”.
‘The Promise’ focuses on a Bangkok story of two siblings from a bankrupt developer family, both swearing to commit suicide. One sibling commits suicide, dies and becomes a physical ghost. Meanwhile, her sister broke her promise, continued to live and became a developer. The dead sister symbolises individuals who commit suicide due to poor economic downturn during the 1997 Financial Crisis. Hence, the dead sister’s dream of succeeding has now become a “ghost”, one of the past and shattered as she became the collateral damage of Capitalism. Later, the living sister became a “living ghost”, as she loses her company in bankruptcy and is forced to live poorly. Failed dreams of economic success turn us all into “ghosts”, whether living or dead.
Meanwhile ‘Apt’ shows how rapid urbanisation and economic development leads to increased isolation, turning people into “living ghosts”. In a city like Seoul, “we are all ghosts” who live in alienation, struggling to find someone to connect and talk. There is an interaction between the “living ghost” and “dead ghost”, with both being isolated and seen as outcasts in the modern metropolis.
CHAN Hiu To Max, 3036137134