Establishing a national identity from above: Film production and wholesome movies in south Korea, 1966–1979

Abstract

ABSTRACTPolitical regulation on cinema had been the greatest barrier to the development of Korean cinema since its inception in the early twentieth century. Especially by the end of the 1970s, authoritarian rule elaborately designed the film industry to follow the official aesthetic doctrine defined by the state agencies. This article examines the relationship between official rhetoric of political legitimacy and Korean cinema during the years between 1966 and 1979, focusing on the mechanisms regarding the production of wholesome movies that encouraged particular ways of interpreting the world.