The Changing Face of Korean Cinema: 1960 to 2015 (Asia's Transformations)

The rapid development of Korean cinema during the decades of the 1960s and 2000s reveals a dynamic cinematic history which runs parallel to the nation’s political, social, economic and cultural transformation during these formative periods. This book examines the ways in which South Korean cinema has undergone a transformation from an antiquated local industry in the 1960s into a thriving international cinema in the 21st century. It investigates the circumstances that allowed these two eras to emerge as creative watersheds, and demonstrates the forces behind Korea’s positioning of itself as an important contributor to regional and global culture, and especially its interplay with Japan, Greater China, and the United States. Beginning with an explanation of the understudied operations of the film industry during its 1960s take-off, it then offers insight into the challenges that producers, directors, and policy makers faced in the 1970s and 1980s during the most volatile part of Park Chung-hee’s authoritarian rule and the subsequent Chun Doo-hwan military government. It moves on to explore the film industry’s professionalization in the 1990s and subsequent international expansion in the 2000s. In doing so, it explores the nexus and tensions between film policy, producing, directing, genre, and the internationalization of Korean cinema over half a century. By highlighting the recent transnational turn in national cinemas, this book underscores the impact of developments pioneered by Korean cinema on the transformation of ‘Planet Hallyuwood’. It will be of particular interest to students and scholars of Korean Studies and Film Studies. Cover 1 Half Title 2 Title Page 12 Copyright Page 13 Contents 16 List of Figures 18 Abbreviations 20 Foreword 22 Introduction: Introducing “Planet Hallyuwood” 24 PART I: The Golden Age of the 1960s 40 1 Hypergrowth of the Propaganda Factory and the Producing Paradox 42 2 At the Crossroads of Directing and Politics 65 3 Genre Intersections and the Literary Film 85 4 Feasting on Asian Alliances: Hong Kong Co-productions and Japanese Remakes 104 PART II: The Dark Age of the 1970s and Hollywood’s Domination in the Aftermath 128 5 Policy and Producing under Hollywood’s Shadow in the 1970s and 1980s 130 6 Robust Invalids in a New Visual Era: Directing in the 1970s and 1980s 150 7 Weapons of Mass Distraction: The Erotic Film Genres of the 1970s and 1980s 164 PART III: The Golden Age of the Post-censorship Era 178 8 The Rise of the New Corporate and Female Producers 180 9 The Rise of the Female Writer–Director and the Changing Face of Korean Cinema 205 10 Genre Transformations in Contemporary Korean Cinema 230 11 Korean Transnational Cinema and the Renewed Tilt Toward China 250 Conclusion: Welcome to Planet Hallyuwood 274 Bibliography 282 Index 294 This book examines the ways in which South Korean cinema has undergone a transformation from an antiquated local industry in the 1960s into a thriving international cinema in the 21st century. Yecies and Shim propose the notion of a 'cinema of perseverance', paying attention to the industry’s accelerated growth and development during these formative epochs which reveals a dynamic cinematic history running parallel to the nation’s political, social, economic and cultural transformation. The book investigates the circumstances that allowed these two eras to emerge as creative watersheds, and demonstrates the forces behind Korea’s positioning of itself as an important contributor to regional and global culture, and especially its interplay with Japan, Greater China, and the United States This book examines how South Korean cinema has transformed from an antiquated local industry in the 1960s into a thriving international cinema in the 21st century. It investigates the circumstances that allowed these two creative eras to emerge, and demonstrates the forces behind Korea's positioning as a contributor to regional and global culture.