In Bug Story and Secret Sunshine, the main character Shin-ae's anguish and religious conflict are described in more detail than the incident which causes her child's miserable sacrifice. Seemingly, Shin-ae tries hard to overcome her despair with christian faith, but she strives to cope with her tragedy within the limitations of human ability. She is not sure of salvation through the christian faith. Conversely, she is obsessed with the idea that she can get over difficulties with her efforts and will, that is to say, through self-deification. She loses her lovely son, but does not give up on her life. Rather, she can support herself, having strong will and hope. Eventually, these efforts lead to the fictional religion. Others who have never experienced her religious conflict, have no right to criticize that she has developed a blessing-oriented faith.
Shin-ae's failure of salvation is a result of the religious dogma. Also, it expresses that she is locked in struggle with her will and fictional faith due to the limitation of human ability rather than she apologizes people around her with agape. She has never experienced both self denial as a sinner and a sense of gratitude and repentance which are the essence of christian faith. For this reason, she is not a born again christian, but just a bug. This story not only educates the reader that false religious faith is serious, but also shows univeral sympathy that religious salvation can not solve easily the problems of the human condition.
The original novel, Bug Story, and the movie, Secret Sunshine, have differences in characters, surrounding environment, method of narration, structure derived from different genres, thematic consciousness and ending plot, even though they have common factors such as the existential situation and theodicean problems. The first part of the movie describes how the main character's child is kidnapped and killed in the process of settlement in a remote town. This event is portrayed as the climax of agony and anxiety. In the latter half of the film, the mother of the child writhes in desperate agony and faces the existential situation with religious conflict. At the end, a postive life is implied with secret and hopeful light.
The main character, Shin-ae, plays the part of a long-suffering wife who acts out a series of deviant behaviors such as a suicide attempt, wrath and cursing in protest toward God after the failure of forgiveness. She is the most round character by means of motion picture techniques. Though she had a good relationship with others and received God's word once, she becomes a person who does not communicate well with others. When she does not find solutions and just feels despair, facing agony and protesting God, believers urge her to recognize the Providence of God and God's will. In this respect, the theodiciean interpretation justifying agony explains that hardship and adversity resulting from sin can be resolved through atonement. However, art questions and defies the Providence of God and deals intensively with the existential situation that superficial religion can not save people in agony.