[KS] film/drama class suggestions

Thu Oct 27 13:15:01 EDT 2005

Dear KS list members:

My apologies for two of the links I provided yesterday to the UCLA Film and 
Television Archive Catalogue: they included process (session) IDs that have 
since expired.

The catalogue's main page is here: 
http://cinema.library.ucla.edu/cgi-bin/Pwebrecon.cgi?DB=local&PAGE=First.  
Enter "korea" (without the quotes) in the "Search for" field, then select 
"Topic and genre/form search" under "Choose a search type."  In the results 
page that appears (after pressing the Search button, of course!), "Korean 
films" (the 15th row down) looks the most promising, and reveals a list 
of...well, Korean films.

Yours sincerely,
Stefan Ewing

>From: "Stefan Ewing" <sa_ewing at hotmail.com>
>Reply-To: Korean Studies Discussion List <Koreanstudies at koreaweb.ws>
>To: Koreanstudies at koreaweb.ws
>Subject: Re: [KS] film/drama class suggestions
>Date: Wed, 26 Oct 2005 09:44:47 -0700
>
>Dear KS list members:
>
>In reply to Hyung Pai's request, I could suggest the website Koreanfilm.org 
>(http://www.koreanfilm.org/) as a starting point.  The site has numerous 
>features, including reviews of films from 1946 right through to 2005; 
>bibliographies; biographies of actors, actresses, and directors; and 
>information on some TV dramas.  (A similar site is Korean Cinema Edition 
>(http://www.cinekorea.com/), with quite a bit of information as well; but 
>it was last updated in 2004.)
>
>The site contains a brief synopsis of the history of Korean cinema 
>(http://www.koreanfilm.org/history.html); a longer history (but written in 
>1998), "An Introduction to Korean Cinema", may be found at at the website 
>_Hors Champ_ 
>(http://www.horschamp.qc.ca/9810/offscreen_essays/korean.html).
>
>Koreanfilm.org also features a long list of contact information for Korean 
>film companies, distributors, marketers, etc. 
>(http://www.koreanfilm.org/contacts.html), as well as a links page 
>(http://www.koreanfilm.org/links.html) to other sites.  A number of the 
>links are to articles touching on historical aspects of Korean cinema, 
>including a 1999 _Koreana_ article by Yu Gina, "Renaissance of Korean 
>Movies," on the early beginnings of the Korean Wave.
>
>Another link is to the syllabus for a 1999 UC Irvine course on Korean film 
>taught by Kyung Hyun Kim (http://eee.uci.edu/99s/20655/syllabus.html).  
>(Don't be put off by the recurring date 1999: the Koreanfilm site is very 
>much up-to-date, and includes a number of reviews for films released in 
>2005.)
>
>Another linked site is the Korean Film Archive 
>(http://www.koreafilm.or.kr/main/index.asp; English: 
>http://www.koreafilm.or.kr/english/index.asp), "dedicated to preserving, 
>collecting, restoring and exhibiting Korean films and other related 
>documents."  A cursory glance at their site reveals a database on Korean 
>films produced since 1919 (http://www.koreafilm.or.kr/db/db_01.asp; 
>English: http://www.koreafilm.or.kr/english/db_sch02.asp).
>
>The UCLA Film and Television Archive 
>(http://www.cinema.ucla.edu/collections/collections.html) includes among 
>its collection of Hollywood films, a number of Korean films.  A topic/genre 
>search for "Korea" yields the following results: 
>http://cinema.library.ucla.edu/cgi-bin/Pwebrecon.cgi?Search_Arg=korea&SL=None&Search_Code=SUBJ_&PID=8879&SEQ=20051026085055&CNT=50&HIST=1. 
>  (Check especially the list under "Korean film": 
>http://cinema.library.ucla.edu/cgi-bin/Pwebrecon.cgi?Search%5FArg=korea&SL=None&Search%5FCode=SUBJ%5F&CNT=50&PID=8879&BROWSE=15&HC=25&SID=6). 
>  Most of the titles appear to be non-circulating, but perhaps they loan to 
>fellow UC faculty?
>
>As for individual films, I have my personal favourites, but I am not in a 
>position to say that A is better than B and therefore should be included in 
>your course.  Nevertheless, my impression is _Shiri_/_Swiri_ 
>(http://www.koreanfilm.org/kfilm99.html#swiri) is important in historical 
>terms, for its release in 1999 either kicked off--or at least coincided 
>with the beginning of--the Korean Wave.  It was the first wildly 
>successful, domestically produced action blockbuster.
>
>The pre-Wave, 1993 film _Seopyonje_ 
>(http://www.koreanfilm.org/kfilm90-95.html#sopyonje) is notable in that it 
>broke all previous Korean box office records, despite the expectation that 
>the film would lose money.  (The review claims that Im Kwon-Taek was only 
>allowed to make the movie because of the success of his previous film, _The 
>General's Son_).  It is a beatiful, poetic movie, set in the  countryside 
>and rich with traditional motifs.
>
>Another film of historical note may be the 1989 film _Why Has Bodhi-Dharma 
>Left for the East?_ (http://www.koreanfilm.org/kfilm80s.html#bodhi), 
>notably mainly because it was, evidently, for many years the *only* Korean 
>film discussed outside of Korea (and, as I recall, the only Korean film 
>available for a long time in my local specialty video store), and won the 
>award for Best Film at the 42nd Locarno International Film Festival.
>
>Prior to all of these, I suppose the most "important" film would be the 
>country's first domestic success, the 1926 production _Arirang_, a 
>metaphorical critique of Japanese colonial power.  A review may be seen 
>here: http://www.koreasociety.org/TKSQ/Book&FilmReview/Arirang.htm.
>
>Hoping this is of help,
>Yours sincerely,
>Stefan Ewing
>
>***
>
>>From: Hyung Pai <hyungpai at eastasian.ucsb.edu>
>>Reply-To: Korean Studies Discussion List <Koreanstudies at koreaweb.ws>
>>To: koreanstudies at koreaweb.ws
>>Subject: [KS] film/drama class suggestions
>>Date: Tue, 25 Oct 2005 21:18:47 -0700
>>
>>Dear members,
>>I am in the process of developing a class on Korean film and TV  drama. I 
>>would appreciate recommendations for new books, articles,   and 
>>appropriate films for an introductory class targetted for  undergrads who 
>>are majoring in East Asian studies. I would also like  to know about web 
>>sites and contact info for vendors who sell DVDs or  videos. Sources on 
>>the Korean Wave phenomena and its cultural impact  on Japan, China and 
>>other countries would also be appreciate either  in English or Korean.  
>>Thank you.
>>
>
>_________________________________________________________________
>Take advantage of powerful junk e-mail filters built on patented Microsoft® 
>SmartScreen Technology. 
>http://join.msn.com/?pgmarket=en-ca&page=byoa/prem&xAPID=1994&DI=1034&SU=http://hotmail.com/enca&HL=Market_MSNIS_Taglines 
>  Start enjoying all the benefits of MSN® Premium right now and get the 
>first two months FREE*.
>
>

_________________________________________________________________
Scan and help eliminate destructive viruses from your inbound and outbound 
e-mail and attachments. 
http://join.msn.com/?pgmarket=en-ca&page=byoa/prem&xAPID=1994&DI=1034&SU=http://hotmail.com/enca&HL=Market_MSNIS_Taglines 
  Start enjoying all the benefits of MSN® Premium right now and get the 
first two months FREE*.