Flashback
플래시백
한국어로 읽기A flashback interrupts the present to show a past scene, marked 'F.B.' or '(flashback)'; use it only when the past explains an action in the present.
Also written as: 회상 · F.B. · 회상 장면 · 과거 장면 · flash back
Meaning
A flashback interrupts the present scene to insert one from the past. In Korean scripts it is marked in the scene heading as S#31. (FLASHBACK) Three years ago, abandoned factory (N) or F.B., returning with (PRESENT) or END F.B. A very short flash (a few seconds of image) may stay inside the action line: FLASH – three years ago, Taesu falling. It is the visual equivalent of a novel's "he remembered that day," and it makes memory, which the camera cannot otherwise film, filmable.
Why it matters
A flashback is powerful but expensive. It stops the present's tension, so unless the present is tighter when you return, it has cost more than it earned. A good flashback explains a present action: five seconds of three years ago shows why Doyun stops at the door, and the viewer understands his hesitation. A bad flashback delivers information: showing a past the viewer is not yet curious about kills the hook. Dramas adapted from web novels often overuse flashback because they transplant the novel's recollection passages directly. In a script, half of those recollections need to become present-tense dialogue and action. One or two flashbacks per episode, each under thirty seconds, is the safe range.
Example
S#31. Corridor outside the old records room (N)
Doyun stops at the door. Does not touch the handle.
FLASH – three years ago, same corridor. Taesu opens the door, grinning. "I'll go first."
The door closes. A gunshot.
(PRESENT) Doyun turns the handle.
The flash is three lines. Taesu's one line ("I'll go first") and a gunshot are enough to convey why Doyun works alone and why this door is heavy now. The full story of that night is still withheld as material for later episodes.
Common mistakes
- Explaining with flashback. A flashback that answers before the viewer asks kills the hook. The present action has to look strange first.
- Long flashbacks. Fill a whole scene with the past and the viewer forgets the present. Be back within thirty seconds.
- Not dating the flashback. If the heading does not say when (three years ago, childhood), editing and art departments cannot prepare.