[KS] Koreanstudies Digest, Vol 29, Issue 6

[Walter K. Lew]

Adding to Stephen's suggestion, /Chang'gunUi adUl/ is also noteworthy  
for its brief but wonderful depiction of a pyOnsa (live narrator of  
film--or what I call a "movieteller") performance. As the screening  
of (a reconstruction of) the film /Kuk'kyOng/ begins, the  
energetically declaiming male pyOnsa is shown giving narrative  
background and then impersonations of several characters in rapid  
succession, including a young woman. This excerpt never fails to  
fascinate and entertain students--and I have used it in courses  
ranging from introductions to Korean civilization to graduate-level  
multimedia writing workshops.

There are other reconstructed films with a pyOnsa soundtrack-- 
sometimes taken from old 78 rpm recordings--as well as documentaries  
about the "majimak pyOnsa" Shin Ch'ul, who has performed in the US  
several times over the last few years, but /Chang'gun/  faithfully  
recreates the whole moviegoing, theater, and performance setting.  
Unfortunately, pyOnsa scenes are not included in any of the sequels.

-- Walter K. Lew

> Message: 7
> Date: Sun, 6 Nov 2005 14:54:40 +1300
> From: "Stephen Epstein" <Stephen.Epstein at vuw.ac.nz>
> Subject: Re: [KS] Films dealing with the Colonial Period
> To: "Korean Studies Discussion List" <Koreanstudies at koreaweb.ws>
> Message-ID:
>     <5FBD50649A79784EB70489F77E2C1FAF02047652 at coso.staff.vuw.ac.nz>
> Content-Type: text/plain;    charset="utf-8"
>
> I don't think anybody has yet mentioned Im Kwon-taek's fast-paced  
> "ChanggunUi adUl" (The General's Son), which is an action film set  
> in the '30s.  It's an entertaining movie, but for me the star is  
> the set design which vividly recreates Seoul during the occupation  
> (not that I can personally vouch for its authenticity....). I think  
> ti would go down well in the classroom and provide a lot of  
> amterial for discussion. The film has a sequel as well "ChanggunUi  
> adUl 2."
>
> Btw, I believe that the film mentioned below is in fact "2009: Lost  
> Memories."
>
> Stephen