Rediscovering Korean Cinema

South Korean cinema is a striking example of non-Western contemporary cinematic success. Thanks to the increasing numbers of moviegoers and domestic films produced, South Korea has become one of the world’s major film markets. In 2001, the South Korean film industry became the first in recent history to reclaim its domestic market from Hollywood and continues to maintain around a 50 percent market share today. High-quality South Korean films are increasingly entering global film markets and connecting with international audiences in commercial cinemas and art theatres, and at major international film festivals. Despite this growing recognition of the films themselves, Korean cinema’s rich heritage has not heretofore received significant scholarly attention in English-language publications.

This groundbreaking collection of thirty-five essays by a wide range of academic specialists situates current scholarship on Korean cinema within the ongoing theoretical debates in contemporary global film studies. Chapters explore key films of Korean cinema, from Sweet Dream, Madame Freedom, The Housemaid, and The March of Fools to Oldboy, The Host, and Train to Busan, as well as major directors such as Shin Sang-ok, Kim Ki-young, Im Kwon-taek, Bong Joon-ho, Hong Sang-soo, Park Chan-wook, and Lee Chang-dong. While the chapters provide in-depth analyses of particular films, together they cohere into a detailed and multidimensional presentation of Korean cinema’s cumulative history and broader significance.

With its historical and critical scope, abundance of new research, and detailed discussion of important individual films, Rediscovering Korean Cinema is at once an accessible classroom text and a deeply informative compendium for scholars of Korean and East Asian studies, cinema and media studies, and communications. It will also be an essential resource for film industry professionals and anyone interested in international cinema.

Source: publisher’s website

Contents

Introduction | Sangjoon Lee

1. A Brief History of Korean Cinema | Cho Junhyoung
2. Sweet Dream (1936) and the Transformation of Cinema in Colonial Korea | Brian Yecies
3. Spring in the Korean Peninsula (1941) | Nayoung Aimee Kwon
4. A Hometown in the Heart (1949) | Juhn Ahn
5. Piagol (1955) | Travis Workman
6. Madame Freedom (1956) | Christina Klein
7. Flower in Hell (1958) | Steven Chung
8. The Housemaid (1960) | Chris Berry
9. Aimless Bullet (1961) | Kelly Y Jeong
10. Mist (1967) | Chung-bang Kim
11. The Road to Sampo (1975) | Hyun Seon Park
12. The March of Fools (1975) | Han Sang Kim
13. Declaration of Idiot (1983) | Hyangjin Lee
14. Chilsu and Mansu (1988) | Darcy Paquet
15. The Night Before the Strike (1990) | Nam Lee
16. My Love, My Bride (1990) | Jinhee Choi
17. The Murmuring Trilogy (1995-99) | Hye Jean Chung
18. A Petal (1996) | Steve Choe
19. The Power of Kangtvon Province (1998) | Julian Stringer
20. Die Bad (2000) | Nikki J. Y. Lee
21. Ch’unhyang, Chihwaseon, and Hanji | David E. James
22. My Sassy Girl (2001) | Kukhee Choo
23. Take Care of My Cat (2001) | Michelle Cho
24. Oldboy (2003) | Kyu Hyun Kim
25. Repatriation (2003) | Markus Norms
26. A Tale of Two Sisters (2003) | Daniel Martin
27. 3-Iron (2004) | Hye Seung Chung
28. The Host (2006) | Peter Y Paik
29. Family Ties (2006) | Chi-Yun Shin
30. Secret Sunshine (2007) | David Scott Diffrient
31. The Journals of Musan (2010) | Eun Ah Cho
32. Stateless Things (2011) | Ungsan Kim
33. Snowpiercer (2013) | Seung-hoon Jeong
34. Ode to My Father (2014) | Kyung Hyun Kim
35. Train to Busan (2016) | Keith B. Wagner

Chronology of Korean Cinema

Filmography

Contributors

Index