A famous Korean criminal psychologist chose the best psychopath character in Korean cinema. However, it surprised many viewers because the character was someone who is quite different from what many people would have thought.
The tvN variety show 'Knowledgeable Criminal Miscellaneous Dictionary' that aired on April 4th talked about the topic of psychopaths.
On this day, criminal psychologist professor Park Ji Sun picked the character that best depicted the characteristics of a psychopath in Korean cinema. She picked the character Agui (played by actor Kim Yoon Seok) from the movie 'Tazza.' She explained, "there is a scene where Agui first appears in the film, and he is seen nonchalantly throwing chrysanthemum flowers. When I saw this, I felt the characteristics of callousness from the psychopath diagnostic criteria. He showed a very cold and indifferent response."
She continued to say, "Agui showed the essence of callousness and coldness even through his walk. A psychopath does not exaggerate his anger or cruelty but shows a characteristic of being emotionally restrained and shows indifference towards others."
In fact, during his best friend's funeral in the film, where Agui first appears, he speaks abnormal words and shows no sympathy. While indifferently throwing the chrysanthemum flowers, he says, "What revenge? Is Kwak Cheol Yong your father or something to throw a fit by taking revenge? You can't approach this with pure human feelings such as revenge. You need to earn your pay by butchering an ox by cracking open its skull and opening up its gut with a butchering knife."
Professor Park also picked Heath Ledger's Joker from the Hollywood film 'The Dark Knight' as the epitome of a psychopath. She explained, "I was terrified when Heath Ledger's Joker is seen wearing a mask and tilts his head while staring into the camera. It's as if he created the standard for the psychopath diagnosis."
Many netizens who saw the episode commented, "I didn't realize Agui was a psychopath. I just thought he was just a gambler," "I didn't really think he was a psychopath until she pointed out his character," "I never thought about it like this, but it's fascinating what she said," and "I realize that a psychopath is someone who has no regard for other people's feelings and cannot empathize or sympathize with people's feelings."
The Agui character was just amazingly done by a great actor. Can't believe people didn't catch on to the fact that he was a psychopath when they watched the movie. Just as the psychologist stated, real psychopaths don't have those exaggerated reactions that actors tend to portray in films. They're cold and calculated.