Korean Collections

The box set of “Women on Screen: Understanding Korean Society and Women through films” (Korean Film Archive, 2013) highlights the female protagonist and their reputation in Korean cinema from the 1930’s to the late 1990’s. This DVD set contains eight DVDs and two books.

One of the films in the set, 깊은밤 갑자기 (Suddenly in the Dark of Night), is a horror movie that follows the story of a house wife and her jealousy over her husband hiring a new caretaker, and eventually leads up to a tragic death.

Hyun-suk Seo, the author of  “The Obscure Object of Desire and Horror: On Some Uncanny Things in Recent Korean Horror Films”, pointed out in his essay that females’ actions in horror genre are typically influenced by jealousy, betrayal, and in many cases lead to murder. This movie was one of the first in its class to explore these themes due to the lifting of many censorship laws in the late 1970s. Seo’s essay can be found in Horror to the Extreme: Changing Boundaries in Asian Cinema (2009 edited by Jinhee Choi and Mitsuyo Wada-Marciano).

김영애 (Kim Young-ae), who plays the female lead of this movie, is still acting as of today. She is credited with film, radio, and television appearances since the 1971 and has won 17 awards in the categories of “Best Actress” and “Best Supporting Actress” since 1974.

For more information on 김영애 (Kim Young-ae):

• Han Cinema – A website that provides news, pictures and other media with 김영애 (Kim Young-ae)
• Korean Movie Database – A website with film credits and information about those in film is available

For more information on the censorship acts see:

• 80년대 한국 영화의 장르 추세 연구 by 김윤아 (영화연구 17호, August 2001) – Article about the lifting of censorship acts and new style of film in the 1980’s. Access via DBpia (OSUL login required).

For more information on the horror genre see:

• 한국 현대 공포영화와 장르 관습의 변화 by 김훈순 & 이소윤  (미디어,젠더&문화 제4호, October 2005) – Article about the growing popularity of the horror genre since the early 90’s and lack of horror in the 80’s. Access via DBpia (OSUL login required).

Here are some books about Korean movies from the library:

• The history of Korean Cinema: Main Current of Korean Cinema  by Yong-il Yi (Seoul, Republic of Korea : Motion Picture Promotion Corp., 1988) – A book that covers the history of Korean cinema from the 1920s until the 1980s.

 

“Family on Screen: Understanding Korean society and Family through Films” (Korean Film Archive, 2013) is part of the series “Understanding Korean Society through films”. It contains 8 films and 2 books that are based on families and their different struggles. The movies have a wide array of subjects such as poverty, war, suspense, and even monsters.

One of the more shocking and top grossing movies is the monster movie 괴물 or The Host. The movie focuses on a giant monster terrorizing citizens along the Han River. The movie tells the story of a family’s struggle to defeat the monster and stay together during the monster attacks.

For more information, here are some articles from DBpia (OSUL login required):

• 영화의 재발견] 한강, 가족 그리고… ‘괴물’  by 신선경 (Electric Power Journal, October 2008) –  a more in depth look at the movie
• South Koreans’ Despair before the Modern Power Structure in The Host by Hyowon Park  (인문과학연구논총, no.38) – article on bio-politics and subversion of power relationships.

 

The McFarland Incident

In February 2000, a US civilian mortician, Albert McFarland, ordered his staff to dispose chemicals into drains at a U.S. Army base. The monster’s origin is a reference to this event.

For more information, see:

• Article from DBpia (OSUL login required): [취재수첩_주한미군 비공개 브리핑] “근면 성실 맥팔랜드, 절대 못 내준다” by 김재중 (월간말, February 2004) – private briefing of Albert McFarland
• The mortician’s tale: Time for US to leave Korea by David Scofield (Asia Times Online Co, January 28, 2004) – Article that goes over the events after the McFarland incident
• The dangers of biosecurity: The Host and the geopolitics of outbreak by Hsuan L. Hsu – analysis on the political and social issues that influenced the movie
  • The article is published in  Eco-trauma cinema edited by Anil Narine (Routledge, 2014)