Contemporary Korean Cinema Culture, Identity and Politics

Despite growing interest in Korean cinema by critics and scholars, until now there has been no in-depth, comprehensive study in this area. This book examines the role of Korean film as a cultural text of Koreans in both North and South, and focuses on the conflicting self-identities of a people still strongly committed to their common cultural traditions despite political division. This book defines the significance of film-making and film viewing in Korean society. It covers the introduction of motion pictures in 1903, Korean cinema during the Japanese colonial period (1910-15) and the development of North and South Korean cinema up to the 1990s. It introduces the works of Korea's major directors, and analyses the Korean film industry in terms of film production, distribution and reception. Based on this historical analysis, the study investigates ideological constructs in seventeen fims, eight from North Korea and nine from South Korea. The book fills a gap in the scholarship on Korean cinema, synthesizing hitherto unpublished data and materials from both North and South Korea, and offering challenging and innovative perspectives relating to North Korean culture and cinema.