London Korean Links

Covering things Korean in London and beyond since 2006

Kim Hong-joon: Two or Three Things I Know About Kim Ki-young

Kim Hong-joon knows many more than two or three things about Kim Ki-young. Do not miss this talk.

Two or Three Things I Know About Kim Ki-young, with Kim Hong-joon

Thursday 22 February, 7pm
Korean Cultural Centre UK | 1-3 Strand | London WC2N 5BW
Register via Eventbrite

The Housemaid

The 5th of February marks the 20th anniversary of filmmaker Kim Ki-young’s death. Kim was a director who reaped considerable commercial success throughout the 60’s while adhering to an independent method of production and controlling, alongside his wife, his own film company; he did so for a longer period of time than any of his contemporaries.

After eventually being re-discovered in the late 1980s and early 1990s, his works would leave a deep impression on a new generation of cinephiles, many of whom have become major figures representing Korean film today, including directors Park Chan-wook and Bong Joon-ho.

Kim Ki-Young was honoured in 1997 with a retrospective at the 2nd Busan Film Festival, an event which aimed to establish him amongst the ranks of “masters” of Korean film. Unfortunately Kim and his wife lost their lives when a fire broke out in his house shortly afterwards in early 1998. Any hopes of seeing a new work by a filmmaker who seemed reinvigorated by this new attention vanished in the tragedy.

At our KCC event, we have invited filmmaker and festival programmer Kim Hong-joon (La Vie en Rose, My Korean Cinema) to talk about “two or three things” he knows about Kim Ki-young. Kim has edited books, researched the scripts and made an essay documentary on this ‘master’ filmmaker. We will first watch his intriguing documentary (50 min), then Kim Hong-joon and Dr. Mark Morris will discuss Kim Ki-young, his films and his legacy.

Kim Ki-young selected filmography:

After making his directorial debut in commercial cinema with 1955’s Box of Death, Kim Ki-young went on to helm over 30 films including:

The Housemaid (1960); The Sea Knows (1961); Goryeojang (1963); Woman of Fire (1971); The Insect Woman (1972); Iodo (1977); Angel, Become an Evil Woman (1990)

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