Since its first encounter with the movie camera of Burton
Holmes, Seoul has become the subject matter and frequent production site for
many filmmakers. The city is the emblem of modernity and ambivalent icon of
fascination and corruption, and diversely represented in Korean cinema since
the Korean War. Haunted by historical memories and overshadowed by an ever-changing
present, the cityscape of Seoul had become a dominant theme of contemporary
Korean cinema precisely because the city requires film makers to deal with both
the past and the present in new and challenging ways.
From "Madame Freedom" to Hong Sang-su's internationally acclaimed "The Day When
a Pig Fell Into a Well" (Doejiga umure ppajinnal, 1996), films about Seoul have
captured both the pressures and pleasures of urban life. Most surprisingly,
Seoul has recently become a city of active movie-goers.
Since early 1993, Korea has rapidly become the center of cinematic activity
in East Asia. This film fever has translated into the remarkable commercial
success of recent blockbuster films. "Swiri" (Kang Je-gyu, 1999), "Joint Security
Area" (Gongdong gyeongbi guyeok, Bak Chan-uk, 2000), and "Friends" (Chin-gu,
Kwak Gyeong-taek, 2001) consecutively broke all-time box office records of Korea
and firmly placed domestic films at the center of film discourses. The success
of these popular films comes in part from the dramatization of socially and
politically pertinent issues to many Koreans. In particular, the first two films
thematized the problem of national partition in popular terms, which simultaneously
reflected and circumscribed South Korea's changing perception and attitudes
toward North Korea.
The new cinematic culture has also played a crucial role in encouraging the
young generation to use the film medium as a way to relieve themselves from
the pressures of modern life. With an ever widening and sophisticated audience,
young film makers today have a much better opportunity to show their works than
during previous generations. And whereas film makers of the 1980s turned to
the grand narrative style as a way of addressing political issues, these new
filmmakers are more concerned with developing a personal vision and style unconnected
with politics. The future direction of Korean cinema will inevitably be led
by these creative and innovative young filmmakers. |