Korean Film Research Articles

Shiri and the transformation of division films in South Korea’s Post-Cold War era

ABSTRACT With the advent of South Korea’s first liberal regime in 1998, division films transitioned from propaganda to commercial cinema, epitomized by the blockbuster Shiri (1999). Blending melodrama and action, Shiri reflects the evolving inter-Korean relations of the post-Cold War era, particularly under the Sunshine Policy. This article analyzes how Shiri uses genre conventions to depict the complex realities of North–South tensions, while also exploring the film’s cultural impact as a symbol of changing political dynamics. Through a mixed-genre approach, the study argues that Shiri marks a significant shift in South Korean cinema, balancing historical realism with melodramatic fantasy. The film's success highlights a new era of freedom in South Korean media, where the portrayal of national division could be both commercially viable and ideologically nuanced.

A critical overview of Zainichi Korean films since 1945

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.

왜 영화를 트는가? - 동시대 비제도권 시네클럽 연구

This study aims to examine non-institutional cinè-clubs that screen films in the context of the increasingly individualised way of watching movies. Cinè-clubs in Korea, which have existed in various forms, have had a significant impact on the film viewing experience and the formation of cinephilia, which has been shaped by the military dictatorship, democratisation movement, and media changes of video and internet. This study analyses the activities and programming processes of non-institutional cinè-clubs in Seoul through a qualitative research methodology to discover the role and significance of cinè-clubs. Cine club operators born in the mid-90s to early 00s have embraced cinema in a variety of different ways. From this experience, their cinè-clubs represent a cross-section of contemporary cinèphilia, with activities that straddle the boundaries between legal and illegal, and programming that does not follow the canon, in the realm of the non-institutional. The university space and interaction in online communities are important conditions for the operation of these cinè-clubs. In addition, non-institutional cinè-clubs, which were formed as a result of the film movement in the 1990s, contribute to the diversity of film culture and the formation of new communities by discovering and screening films that have been marginalised by the Korean film institutions such as film festivals, film schools, and cinèmathèques. In the current stagnant Korean film culture, non-institutional cinè-clubs become a cultural space to discover lost vitality.

Two 33-Year-Old Women: Minka Stoeva and Kim Jiyoung Across Space and Time

Abstract: Comparative analysis is conducted between the Bulgarian film “A 33-Year-Old Woman” (1982) and the Korean film “Kim Jiyoung, Born 1982” (2019), as well as the Korean novel (2016) on which it was based. The focus is on the parallels and the differences between the artistic realizations of the protagonists which share the same age, the same gender, the same parent status (mothers of daughters). I explore how images were constructed which claim common validity for certain social and historical conditions. The aim is to identify the common and the specific phenomena and processes depicted in two different and distant cul¬tures in two different historical periods in two completely different socio¬po¬litical systems (Bulgaria in 1981/1982 and South Korea in 2015/2016) through works of narrative art that have provoked exceptionally broad social response and debate. Intercultural issues are seen through the prism of feminist discourse in two dif¬ferent periods. The tumultuous public reactions to the three works of art prove their artistic relevance and their high historical value as documents of their own time. Keywords: comparative analysis, contemporary Korean literature, Bulgarian cine¬ma, Korean cine

OVERLOOKING THE TRANSFORMATION OF VALUES THROUGH THE TRANSNATIONAL AMERICAN REMAKES MOVIES

This study explores the transformation of values in transnational remake movies, focusing on their popularity and the incorporation of new elements to suit target audience preferences. An analysis of The Lake House, a remake of the Korean film Il Mare, reveals shifts in values and the integration of American cultural aspects. These changes stem from audience demands, business considerations, and Hollywood's global influence. Remakes require more than simply reproducing original content; they involve capturing cultural nuances from both versions. Utilizing Hall's representation approach and qualitative methods, the study assesses transnational remakes and their conveyed values. The research identifies shifts from South Korean values to those of the American target market, such as the transition from interdependence to self-reliance and a preference for directness, assertion, and rationality. The American film industry should carefully evaluate the suitability of movies for its audiences, recognizing changes in scenes and messages. The establishment of American values in remakes is influenced by the success of original films and their formulas. As transnational products, movies must be repackaged for target audiences. The industry faces complex processes to align the values of popular films with audience tastes while maintaining the essence of original works.

Escape from Mogadishu (2021): The Geographical Expansion of Korean Cinema

Escape from Mogadishu (2021): The Geographical Expansion of Korean Cinema

Comparative Study and Analysis of Social Structure and Cultural Values in Chinese and Korean Movies

A comparative study of social structure and cultural values in Chinese and Korean films reveals the unique perspectives and profound differences between the two countries in reflecting social reality and conveying cultural values in their films. Chinese movies tend to depict harmonious and intimate family relationships when showcasing family structure, emphasizing the importance of the family as an individual's emotional support and spiritual sustenance. Korean movies, on the other hand, focus more on showcasing the complexity and conflicts within families, reflecting social reality and the depth of human nature through the entanglements among family members. This difference reflects the different emphasis on family values and social values between China and South Korea. In terms of social class, Chinese movies often focus on the survival status and struggle process of the lower class society, showcasing social injustice and contradictions by telling stories of ordinary people. This kind of attention reflects the humanistic care of Chinese films towards vulnerable groups and their profound reflection on social issues. Korean movies, on the other hand, tend to reveal and criticize the power and corruption of the upper class, reflecting the dark side of society by depicting social phenomena such as collusion between politics and business, and power and money transactions. This difference reflects the different orientations of social class concepts and social responsibility between China and South Korea.

Comparative Study on Narrative of Social Issues in Chinese and Korean Films in the New Era: Taking "Burning" and "An Elephant Sitting Still" as Examples

Comparative Study on Narrative of Social Issues in Chinese and Korean Films in the New Era: Taking "Burning" and "An Elephant Sitting Still" as Examples

Study on the Path of Intercultural Communication of Television DramaTake Queen of Tears as an Example

Korean film and television dramas are one of the important carriers of intercultural communication in Korean culture. The study of the reasons for the popularity of Korean dramas from the perspective of intercultural communication has received extensive attention, but there is still a lack of in-depth research on the latest explosive Korean dramas. This paper will take the Korean drama Queen of Tears, which exploded in the first half of 2024, as a sample to analyze the reasons for the popularity of the Korean drama Queen of Tears in China under the cross-cultural communication path. The paper analyses that the popularity of Queen of Tears is inextricably linked to the interplay of casting, plot, filming, and production. Based on this, this essay proposes that domestic TV dramas should pay attention to character suitability in casting, rich and diversified plots, and character settings, and focus on short-video marketing and other suggestions, hoping to shed some light on the production of domestic TV dramas, to promote the export of Chinese culture to foreign countries.

The Craze of "Korean Women": A Study on the Impact of Korean Film and Television Cultural Output on the Self-Identity of Chinese Female Youth

The impact of the transnational flow of Korean cultural products on Chinese Female youth has received widespread attention. However, there is still a lack of specific analysis on how the image of "Korean women" in these cultural products affects the self-identity and femininity of young Chinese women. This paper analyzes the popularity of the image of "Korean women" among Chinese Female youth and its impact on their self-image and personal empowerment through a questionnaire survey, revealing the differences between this image and the traditional Chinese female image and the duality it brings. The results show that although the image of "Korean women" has promoted women's personal expression and self-identity to a certain extent, it may also challenge traditional female values. Therefore, this paper suggests that future research should pay more attention to the evolution of women's images under cross-cultural influences, explore how to promote positive effects on women's self-expression while respecting traditional culture and provide predictive analysis and suggestions for the development trend of Chinese youth culture.

1950~60년대 문화영화 애니메이션 연구

This paper argues for the need to re-catalog animations in cultural films produced by the National Film Production Center, which are fading into the mists of Korean film history. Given the center’s obligation to promote national policies, it is essential not only to specify when these cultural films were made but also to accurately identify the artists involved in the animations. However, the basic information varies among institutions that introduce these cultural films. First, the role of short animations produced by the National Film Production Center from the 1950s to the 1980s is examined in this paper, with their inception and decline being analyzed through articles published in each era. This paper argues that the first cultural film animation should be identified not as “Cartoon of Killing Rats” (September 1959), but as “Acacia Tree Growing in Korea” (April 1959). Moreover, the migration of animators from the National Film Production Center to private film companies and the government’s dismissive attitude towards cartoons are cited as reasons for the decline. Finally, the relationship between the animations in cultural films and contemporary short animations featured in Daehan News (Korean News) is explored. This paper advocates to expand the research horizons of the cultural films.

The Implications of Queer Representation in Contemporary South Korean TV Narratives

Existing scholarly works on the topic of queer representation in South Korean media focus primarily on Korean cinema and K-pop, but there are far fewer studies on queer or queer-coded portrayals in Korean TV media. Queer characters and relationships are gradually becoming more visible in mainstream South Korean TV with some examples being Semantic Error which centers on the romantic relationship between two men and Nevertheless which depicts the feelings of friendship between two women turn clearly romantic. Considering the significant rise in popularity of Korean TV dramas not only in Asia but also in western society, where audiences are more conscious of queer narratives, the realm of queer representation in Korean TV definitely warrants more scholarly attention. I aim to contribute to the conversation about depictions of queerness in Korean media by analyzing the representation of queer characters in 2021 TV drama Work Later, Drink Now, specifically the queer subtext of Jigoo and Jiyeon’s relationship, and how this story reveals South Korean perceptions of queer experiences by matching and/or distinguishing itself from the tragic narratives that queer characters are often depicted in Korean TV dramas. I will also analyze the reception of this show by South Korean society in relation to queer identity based on its references in Korean pop culture and online fan discussions. I argue that the writer of Work Later, Drink Now intended to provide commentary not only on the situation of women in contemporary South Korean society, but she also pushed an underlying queer narrative, aiming to shed light on the reality of being, specifically, a queer woman in South Korea.

Between scandal and suture: the 1975 corruption scandal in the Ministry of Culture and Public Information's Film Division

ABSTRACT Focusing on the mid-1970s, often considered the height of repression during Park Chung Hee's rule, this article examines the dynamic interplay between the South Korean film industry and state administration of film censorship. Specifically, I examine the 1975 corruption scandal that took place in the Ministry of Culture and Public Information's Film Division, in which several filmmakers had offered cash bribes to public officials in exchange for leniency in various aspects of film regulation. More than a case of misconduct limited to the film industry, the incident was quickly sensationalized as evidence of widespread societal corruption and illegal practices that threatened to harm the public. In turn, the state capitalized on the case's notoriety to justify the various measures it took in the name of ‘purifying’ society. Using ‘scandal’ as a pretext, the state commenced the structural reorganization of the film industry and film policies to more closely align with its goals. Ultimately, I argue that this corruption scandal allows us to understand censorship practices as the result of complex, multi-layered relations between film administrative policies and the film industry.

Class Bias in Indonesian’s Post-Reformation Film Revival

This paper describes how the Indonesian film industry has experienced a revival to counter Hollywood dominance since the beginning of the Reformation Era in the 2000s. However, conditions that hinder the growth of the Indonesian film industry are mainly due to the concentration of movie theatres and film screens in big cities. Indonesian films are predominantly consumed by groups from the upper socioeconomic levels and ignored by the middle and lower economic strata. This article seeks to portray whether the movement against Hollywood dominance would be effective if Indonesian films were only directed at this particular audience segment. To analyse the development of the Indonesian film industry in the post-reformation era (2000-current), the authors used a nationwide survey from Saiful Mujani Research and Consulting, conducted from August 31 to September 9, 2019, shortly before the COVID-19 Pandemic hit globally. To corroborate the survey's findings, the authors also distributed a closed questionnaire to 100 students at Undergraduate Program in Communication, Universitas Indonesia, and followed this with in-depth interviews with several students. The authors seek to study the revival of Indonesian films despite the decade-long dominance of Hollywood films and, recently, South Korean films. The research question proposed in this paper is: Can Indonesia break away from Hollywood's dominance? For this reason, this research focuses on the availability and modality of Indonesian market-targeted millennial and post-millennial film audiences to support the revival of the national film industry to compete with the dominance of Hollywood films. Keywords: Class bias, Indonesian films’ revival, taste culture, movie theaters, Hollywood films.

Translation tools in multilingual Korean films: changing ideas of translation

ABSTRACT This article examines Bong Joon-ho's, Snowpiercer and Park Chan-wook's, Decision to Leave with a view to identifying how different languages are used for characterization and a narrative, and the extent to which the meanings encoded in the interplay of different languages in the film are delivered to the audiences relying exclusively on English subtitles. We focus on the role played by these different languages and a translation device (e.g. translation machines) appearing in films. We argue that both translation devices and different languages used are carefully designed and devised by the directors not only to contribute to audiences’ meaning-making processes and to enhance affective engagement with the film but also to challenge linguistic hierarchies. Translation machines are even used to defamiliarize languages used by characters and to maximize audiences’ experiences. Yet, these are not necessarily considered during translation, which may deprive audiences relying on subtitles of affective experiences. This study ultimately argues that the differing approaches to representing translation demonstrate different public understandings of translation.

Chinese Remake of Korean Films: Challenges and Strategies

This paper conducts an in-depth research and analysis on the challenges and dilemmas faced during the process of Chinese remake of Korean film, as well as the strategies to address these issues. Firstly, the paper reviews the historical development of cooperation between the Chinese and South Korean film industries, noting the rapid growth of the Chinese film industry around 2005 and the increasing collaboration with South Korea. However, with the changing times and the impact of political events, cooperation between the Chinese and South Korean film industries has gradually been restricted, leading to a shift towards transnational remakes. Subsequently, the paper explores the quality issues of Chinese remake of Korean film, analyzing aspects such as script adaptation, character development, and plot treatment. Particularly, focusing on the remake case of Sunny, it points out the shortcomings of Chinese remakes in retaining the essence of the original work, emotional resonance, and innovation. Finally, the paper proposes strategies to address these issues, including suggestions on emotional resonance and theme preservation, flexible plot adaptation and character development, and the incorporation of regional characteristics and innovative elements. By effectively applying these strategies, the quality and market performance of remake productions can be improved, achieving a win-win situation for both commercial and artistic endeavors.

An Exploration of the Genre of Korean Space Science Fiction Movies — Taking the Movie Space Sweepers as an Example

Although Korean science fiction films started late and developed slowly, the Korean film industry is developed and has never stagnated in the exploration of film genres. The movie Space Sweepers is South Korea’s first exploration and attempt at the science fiction sub-genre of space science fiction. Since its launch on the streaming media platform Netflix in February 2021, it has topped the global movie popularity list for five consecutive days and won 29 countries. It ranks first in broadcasts in the region, and it has also made space science fiction a genre trend in South Korea. This article will take the movie Space Sweepers as an example to sort out South Korea’s development path for the space science fiction film genre, and analyze the reasons for Space Sweepers’ global success.

Class Narrative in Lee Chang-dong’s Films: A Case Study of the Film Burning

As one of the most significant auteur directors in the South Korean film industry, Lee Chang-dong has always focused on social realities, marginalized characters, and underprivileged groups, earning a reputation for his strong critical consciousness in the global film scene. At the 71st Cannes Film Festival, his latest work Burning garnered a score of 3.8 out of 4, setting a record for the highest rating in the history of Cannes press screenings. The film primarily explores the existential circumstances and survival conditions of individuals, depicting how individuals seek freedom in an absurd world. It maintains Lee Chang-dong’s consistent stance on the margins, continuing his attention to the plight and survival conditions of individuals from the lower strata of society and his strong critique of social realities. This paper will conduct a narrative analysis of Burning from the perspective of class narrative.

미디어 융합 시대 영화 지원체계 및 거버넌스에 관한 연구 - 프랑스 CNC와 영화진흥위원회를 중심으로

미디어 융합 시대 영화 지원체계 및 거버넌스에 관한 연구 - 프랑스 CNC와 영화진흥위원회를 중심으로

Aging, femininity and class: reimagining the ‘halmeoni’ in contemporary South Korean cinema

ABSTRACT This article explores the representation of elderly women, termed ‘halmeoni’ in Korean, in contemporary South Korean films to discover traces of departure from previous modes of representation of aging femininity on screen. The discussed films feature elderly female characters onto whom the persisting double standard of aging between men and women is projected. Additionally, the films convey the harsh realities faced by these female characters, reflecting socio-cultural anxieties surrounding the increasing social concerns about aging underclass single women in Korea’s context. Prompted by the global recognition of Korean actress Youn Yuh-jung in her 70s, the article calls for a re-evaluation of the portrayal of the ‘halmeoni’ in Korean cinema, with the conviction that this imperative may extend beyond the confines of Korean media. The interpretation of the five films—three of which feature Youn as an aging underclass woman—seeks to mediate feminist discourses critiquing age-related marginalization in cultural representation as a universally gendered issue while highlighting the specific historical and cultural underpinnings for aging femininity found in the onscreen Korean ‘halmeoni.’ Through a close analysis of the elderly female characters, the article urges critical engagement with new modalities of representing aging femininity.