A critical overview of Zainichi Korean films since 1945

Abstract

ABSTRACT This paper gives an overview of the history of Zainichi Korean films from 1945 to the present and explores the historical environment and popular demands that drove the production of major works. After World War II, the Zainichi Korean community took on the challenge of film production for the first time on the strength of GHQ’s favorable policies and cultural solidarity with the Japanese socialists. This challenge, which began with newsreels and documentary films, soon entered a long period of stagnation due to the political upheaval of the time, a conflict with GHQ, and deteriorating relations with the Japanese Communist Party. In the 1970s, Zainichi films gradually began to revive, centering on the documentary genre, thanks to Zainichi Korean directors who had learned production skills under progressive Japanese filmmakers. As the mini-theater boom in the 1980s created an environment in which small-scale, non-mainstream films could be distributed and consumed in Japan, Zainichi films gradually expanded their scope through the production of various drama films. At last, the Zainichi Korean film genre finally began to establish itself firmly in Japanese film history. In particular, after the 2000s when the Korean Wave (Hallyu) phenomenon became noticeable in Japan, female directors and South Korean directors emerged to capture minor and workaday issues from multifaceted perspectives, and the general public in Japan enthusiastically consumed their works. Zainichi Korean films continue to strive to embrace both social issues and mass appeal.