Welcome to the largest festival of Korean cinema ever presented in the United States.
Jointly organized by the
Freer Gallery of Art and the
Arthur M. Sackler Gallery of the
Smithsonian Institution and the
Korean Cultural Service, Washington, D.C., this festival encourages Washington audiences to sample from more than thirty films spanning the history of Korean film.
Freer Gallery of Art, the festival's flagship venue, presents a historical overview, showing classics of the "golden age" of Korean cinema in the 1950s and 1960s to outstanding films of today. The
AFI Kennedy Center and
AFI Silver Theatre focus on comedies, while the
Avalon Theatre offers an offbeat mix of cult classics and innovative contemporary work.
The National Museum of Women in the Arts showcases achievements of Korean women directors, and the
Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden surveys recent experimental trends in Korean filmmaking.
All films are in color, 35mm, and in Korean with English subtitles unless otherwise indicated.
This festival is made possible by the Korean Cultural Service, Washington, D.C.; the
Korean Film Council; and the
Korean Film Archive.
Tom Vick, film programmer, Freer and Sackler Galleries, and co-programmer,
Korean Film Festival, DC
Much of the history of Korean cinema remains a mystery. In large part, this is due to the destruction caused by the Korean War (no pre-1945 feature films exist intact) and decades of censorship in the early to mid-twentieth century. Luckily, this is changing. Koreans are continually rediscovering their cinematic past, thanks in part to organizations such as The Korean Film Archive and the Korean Film Council, who are dedicated to restoring and recovering their nation's film history. In addition, the Pusan International Film Festival annually presents a retrospective of works by a different director from the classic era of Korean film.
It is difficult to pinpoint when films were first introduced in Korea, but foreign films most likely were first shown in Seoul in 1903. The first Korean-made film,
The Righteous Revenge (1919), was a "kinodrama," in which actors performed against a filmed backdrop. In 1923 the first Korean silent films were presented, and a relatively strong movie industry grew throughout the 1920s. The most famous film of the era, Na Un-kyu's
Arirang (1926), made an explicit statement against the Japanese occupation of Korea, and it marked an artistic triumph for its twenty-five-year-old director-star. Na's work inspired other filmmakers to criticize those who had invaded their homeland, and this led to strict censorship from Japanese authorities in the 1930s. From that point on, only nonpolitical film—melodramas and historical epics—or pro-Japanese propaganda films reached Korean audiences.
In 1935 the first Korean film with sound,
Ch'unhyang-jun, appeared. Based on Korea's most well known folktale, it proved extremely popular with audiences at the time. More than a dozen film versions of the story have appeared since then, with the most recent being Im Kwon-taek's international hit
Chunhyang (2000). After Japan invaded China in 1937, Korean film production turned exclusively to propaganda purposes, and five years later Korean-language films were banned altogether. The earliest film included in this festival,
A Hometown in Heart of 1948(Freer, October 3), is one of only five films that still survive from the period between the end of the Japanese occupation in 1945 and the beginning of the Korean War in 1950.
After the truce of 1953, South Korea's president, Rhee Syngman, attempted to revive the country's destroyed film industry by declaring cinema exempt from taxes. This, combined with foreign aid programs that supplied equipment and technology, ushered in what has become known as the "golden age" of Korean cinema, which lasted well into the 1960s. During these decades numerous talented auteurs emerged, among them, Yu Hyun-mok, whose 1961
Aimless Bullet (Freer, October 8) is regarded as a landmark for its stark, neorealist depiction of postwar industrialization, and Kim Ki-young, a truly original figure known for his over-the-top psychosexual dramas, such as
The Housemaid (Freer, October 17) and
Promise of the Flesh (Avalon, October 18). The most significant figure of this era is unquestionably Shin Sang-ok, who is often referred to as the "prince" of this golden age. Shin made more than eighty films, many of which were popular and critical successes, including
A Flower in Hell (Freer, September 19) and
Eunuch (Avalon, September 20).
With increased government censorship and the rising popularity of television, Korean cinema fell into decline in the 1970s, even though directors such as Kim Ki-young, Shin Sang-ok, and Lee Man-hee continued to produce noteworthy films. Censorship relaxed somewhat in the 1980s, resulting in a mini-renaissance led by Lee Jang-ho (
A Good Windy Day, Freer, October 22) and the prolific Im Kwon-taek (
Festival, Freer, October 29), who has made close to one hundred feature films to date.
Two events occurred in 1988 that had a lasting effect on the Korean film industry. First, laws were passed that relaxed censorship even further. This allowed a generation of politically outspoken filmmakers, among them, Park Kwang-su (
To the Starry Island, Freer, October 24) and Jang Sun-woo (
Resurrection of the Little Match Girl, Freer, September 24, and
Age of Success, Avalon, September 27), to bring their visions and opinions to the screen. Second, import restrictions on foreign films were lifted. For the first time Korean films came into direct competition with films from the United States and elsewhere. As a result, Korean films suffered at the box office well into the 1990s, when Korean cinema truly began to branch out. Lee Myung-se and Kim Ui-seok inaugurated the immensely popular "sex war' comedy genre with
My Love, My Bride (AFI Silver Theatre, October 6 and 7) and
Marriage Story (AFI Kennedy Center, October 20 and 21), respectively. Big budget Korean movies began taking back the box office from American releases, and a new breed of independent auteurs put Korea on the international cinema map. Outstanding among this new generation of filmmakers are Hong Sang-soo (
Woman Is the Future of Man, Freer, September 17, and
The Virgin Stripped Bare by Her Bachelors, AFI Kennedy Center, October 5 and 9), Lee Chang-dong (
Green Fish, Freer, October 31), and Kim Ki-duk (
The Coast Guard, Avalon, October 11). Today, Korea has one of the world's most dynamic, wide-ranging, and creative film industries. Now is the perfect time to discover what they have achieved.
Hyunjun Min, lecturer, University of Maryland, and co-programmer,
Korean Film Festival, DC
Less than a decade ago, the Korean film industry was on the verge of collapse. It had no proven domestic audience, no accumulated capital to weather the hard times, no governmental subsidy, and it had no answer to American and other foreign films. Domestic market share of Korean films reached close to single digit percent points, and when the Korean government tried to lift the last safety net, screen quota, the whole film industry reacted violently. Since the late 1990s, however, the Korean film industry has gone against all expectations. In 2001 the top five movies at Korean box office were all Korean films, and every year new Korean films break almost all existing box office records. Korean films have become regulars at prestigious international film festivals and have received numerous awards. Domestic market share of Korean films has reached almost 50 percent, surpassing Hollywood films. Korea has become the only nation in film history to have taken back its audience after losing it to foreign films.
The reasons for the success of Korean film still need more research and discussion. More interesting, though, might be whether Korean cinema will continue to succeed, or will it fade into oblivion. One thing is immediately clear: Korean cinema is diverse. Japanese postwar cinema and Chinese Fifth Generation films attracted international audiences with their exotic costume dramas. Hong Kong film did it with its martial arts films and cop movies, and Taiwanese films, with their artistic flavor, became art house favorites for some time.
Unlike these countries, the current success of Korean cinema started in the domestic market. After the enormous success of the action espionage thriller
Shiri (1999), the Korean film industry has continued its success with different genres and modes of filmmaking. As the diverse selection of this festival shows, the Korean film industry offers a full range of filmmaking: costume dramas (
Festival), genre films (
My Sassy Girl), horror (
Sorum), melodrama (
The Art Museum by the Zoo), sci-fi (
The Resurrection of the Little Match Girl), documentaries (
Cinema on the Road), experimental film (
Camel[s]), and art house favorites (
The Virgin Stripped Bare by Her Bachelors and
The Coast Guard).
In addition, many social and cultural institutions back up these filmmaking activities. Korea currently hosts several international film festivals and has become the film mecca of Asia. Every year new film schools open to train filmmakers, and many students go abroad to learn other countries' film language and tradition. Countless Korean web sites specializing in film distribute information and generate discussion. While sky-rocketing production costs worry some, it seems the Korean film industry has built a firm foundation for continued success. The films presented in this festival attest to the depth and breadth of that foundation.
