Korean Cinema

Korean cinema is already more than a century old. As with the film histories of other countries, Korean film history has always been closely linked to the formation of modern society. Thus, Korean film history must be part of the same social and historical foundation that modern society is based on. In Korea, films were only an exotic spectacle when first introduced. Then, when Korean filmmakers had just started making films, they had to go through severe censorship during the colonial period and various military governments. It has not been an easy journey for Korean cinema to grow into a world-renowned success story.
It had to survive many external and internal threats and moments of crisis. It is natural that many people are eager to know how the domestic film market share soared from a mere 15.9 per cent in 1993 to 60per cent in 2004, the box-office quadrupled over one decade, and such diverse films are made. The key to success has been creativity and powerful content, supported by the greatest accomplishment of the Korean film industry: the abolition of restrictions and censorship. There is also the common experience of national division and the history of dictatorship. Some foreign film professionals ask me what policy was required to achieve Korea’s success. I always give them the same answer: if there is any restriction, abolishing it is a prerequisite, as freedom of expression is more effective than any other support. The history of the Korean cinema itself proves this.

김미현

Director, Policy Research & Development Team, Korean Film Council

STYLE GUIDE
PREFACE

Four Variations on Korean Genre Film : Tears, Screams, Violence and Laughter

01 The Exhibition of Moving Pictures and the Advent of Korean Cinema 1897-1925

Exhibition of Moving Pictures
The Establishment of Permanent Theaters
Fight for Justice and the Success of Kino-drama
The Vow Made below the Moon : Fiction Films Begin with an Educational Film
Lee Wol-haw, the First Korean Actress, and Gisaeng Actresses at Work
The Story of Jang-hwa and Hong-ryeon and Producer Park Seung-pil

The Genealogy of Shinpa Melodramas in Korean Cinema

02 The Japanese Colonial Period, Heyday of Silent Films 1926-1934
Motion Picture and Film Censorship Regulation
Shinpa Films and Modernity
Arirang and National Cinema
The KAPF Cinema Movemnet and Left-Wing Films
A Ferry Boat that No One Owns Expresses the People’s Anger
Byunsa : Stars of the Silent Film Period

The Debates around Realism in the Korean Cinema

03 The Sound Film and Militarism 1935-1945

The First Sound Film, The Story of Chun-hyang
The Early Days of Korean Film Technology
Sweet Dream, The Earliest Surviving Korean Film
Recently Discovered Films
Film Regulations of the Japanese Government-General of Korea After the Chosun Film Decree
Propaganda Films Co-produced during the Last Years of Japanese Imperialism

Freedom of Speech and Cinema : The History of Korean Film Censorship

04 Liberation and the Korean War 1945-1953
Viva Freedom! and Liberation Films
Film Technology in Disarray
The Korean Film Community Under the USAMGK
A Hometown in the Heart : Lyrical and Tranquil Beauty
The Korean War and Documentaries
Film Production in Refugee Cities

Changes in the Korean Star System

05 The Revival of the Film Industry 1954-1962

Policies to Promote the Film Industry After The Korean War
Chun-hyang Story Pioneers the Korean Cinema Revival
The Period Films Boom
Madame Freddom and Melodramas
The Wedding Day and Comedies
Tendencies in Korean Cinema Genres and Forms Foreign Films and Their Influence
The Sudo Film Company and the Anyang Studio Korea’s Hollywood : The Formation of Chungmuro
New Representations of the Patriarchal System in the Family Drama
Three Representative Film of Post-War Korean Cinema : The Housemaid, An Aimless Bullet, and Mother and a Guest

Korean Women Directors

06 The Korean Cinema Renaissance and Genre Films 1963-1971

The Enactment and Enforcement of the Motion Picture Law
The Industrialization Policy for Korean Cinema, and the Birth of Shin Films
The Advent of Wide Screen : Cinemascope and Color
Exuberan Sets and Costumes in Period Films
The Sensibility and Aesthetics of the New Genre, Action Thriller Films
Laughter in Abnormality and Relief in Normality : Comedies
The Barefoot Young and Youth Films
Korean Cinema’s Leap into the World : Korean-Hong Kong Co-productions
Public Indecency and the Biolation of the Anti-Communist Law
The System of Awards for Producting Quality Films and Literary Films
Self-conscious Modernist Films
Horror Films and A Public Cemetery below the Moon
The Shinpa Films of the Late 1960s and Love Me Once Again

The Representation of the Family in Korean Cinema

07 The Authoritarian Period and a Depression in the Film Industry 1972-1979

The Motion Picture law under the Yushin Regime
The Film Industry Stagnates and the Impact of Television
The Fashion for Film Adaptation of Popular Novels
Metaphors of Resistance during Devastation : Yeong-ja’s Heyday and The March of Fools
Youth Culture and Young Sng Shi Dae
National Policy Films under the Shadow of Control
Deracinated Martial Arts Action Films
The Formation of the Teen Audience for High-teen Films
The Hostess Film Cycle : The True Story
The Subculture of Second0run Theaters
The Cultural Center Generation and the Growth of Film Buff Culture

Images of Women in Korean movies

08 The New Military Regime’s Rule over Culture and the Advent of the New Film Culture 1980-1987

The 3S Policy and Erotic Films
Realism and the Portrayal of Poverty
Overcoming Division and Finding the Road to Reunification
Social Group Pressure on the Cinema
The Sensibility and Narrative Style of 1980s Commercial Films
The Fifth and Sixth Revisions of the Motion Picture Law : Liberalization of Produciton and Foreing Film Imports
Films Depicting the Realities of Woment’s Lives
Glovalization : Awards at International Film Festivals
In Search of New Cinema and Alternative Cinema Specialized Film Education : The Korean Academy of Film Arts
The Beginning of Hollywood Direct Distribution and Resistance
Small-Scale Theater Culture and the Popularization of Videos

National Cinema-Who Is It For? : The History and Context of the Korean Cinema

09 The New Korean Cinema Movement 1988-1995

Changes in the Korean Film Industry after Direct Distrivution
The Advent of the Korean New Wave
Jangsangotmae and the Struggle to Screen Night Before the Strike
Sanggye-dong Olympic and the Activities of Independent Documentary Production Groups
New Generation Producers’ Concept Movies
A New Comedy Sensibility : Marriage Story and Two Cops
Sopyonje and the Revival of Nationalism
Complex Awareness of Reality and Genre : Directors after the New Wave Generation
Art Film Exhibition : From Videotheques to Art Film Theaters
Defend the Screen Quota System!

A History of Korean Film Policies

10 The Growth and Outlook of the Korean Cinema 1996-Present

The WTO System and the Reorganization of Film Promotion Policy
The Transition from Censorship to the Rating System
The Change in the Distribution System and a New Structure
Advaces in Visual Technology
The “Nation” and “People” in Commercial ” National and Popular” films
Critical Journalism : The Formation of the Market for Weekly Film Magazines
Sailing from the Local onto the Global Scene : The Launch of the Pusan International Film Festival International Co-Productions
Multiplex Theaters : Making Comfortable Movie-Going Accessible
Swiri and Korean Blockbusters
The Endorsement of Well-Made Films
The Middle-Aged and Older Audience’s Move-Going Habits in the Age of the Ten-Million-Strong Audience
Hallyu Fever and Korean Cinema
The Korean Cinema’s Young Dream : New Directors
The Pillar of Film Culture : The Power of Independent Films
Digital Generation, Digital Films
A Film Artist for All Times : Im Kwon-taek
The Aesthetic Topography of Korean Cinema

Trends in the Structure of the Korean Film Industry

BIBLIOGRAPHY
INDEX