Korean cinema is increasingly becoming a landmark in the movie world. Avid fans can now learn all about the past and present of the local film industry at the new Korean Film Museum.
Korean Film Museum
The Korean Film Archive (KOFA), a state-funded organization devoted to collecting, preserving and reviving domestic films and movie data, inaugurated last Friday the Korean Film Museum.
Located in Sangam-dong, northern Seoul, it's the city's first museum devoted to movies. Walking around the circular room, you'll zip through 100 years of film history.
It's small but compact and full of small treasures. Cineastes donated precious personal items for the museum. You'll find legendary screen beauty Choi Eun-hee's (1926~) jewelry and make-up brushes as well as celebrated director Im Kwon-taek's signature on-site outfits and the Honorary Golden Berlin Bear trophy he won at the 55th Berlin International Film Festival.
The historiography is presented in four parts. The first (1903-1945) shows silent films and creative activity under Japanese colonial rule (1910-1945). The second section (1945-1972) highlights war documentaries from the post-World War II era and the 1960s, which is often dubbed the "Golden Age" of the film industry. One notable relic is the Special Silver Berlin Bear trophy, left, that director Kang Dae-jin received for "Mabu" (Coachman, 1961) at the 11th Berlin festival.
The third period (1972-1986) is marked by oppression and censorship under military regimes. Lastly, the fourth period (1987~) covers the 80s or the "New Wave", and the 90s' "Renaissance" of Korean cinema. Also featured are scoops on the latest box office hits that signal a bright future for the industry.
The history lesson is spiced up with multimedia surprises for tech-savvy people. In each section, people can flip through movie posters and listen to soundtracks of the era.
The museum also revives history with its recreation of an antique theater. Founded in 1902 to celebrate Emperor Gojong's 40th year of rule, it was reborn in 1908 as Wongaksa, one of Korea's first silent film movie theaters. You can see a collage of clips from homegrown classic "Turning Point of Youngsters" (1936) and foreign flicks like "Ben Hur" (1925), which are narrated by a retro-style film interpreter.
In the central area, a booth traces social trends through the actresses who ruled each time period. During the Japanese colonization era, screen star Moon Yae-bong was loved for her pure image and feminine allure, while Hwang Jung-soon was the quintessential mother figure in the 80s. More recently, tough ladies like Shin Eun-kyung ("My Wife is a Gangster" series) reigned and Jeon Do-yeon, who won the 2007 Cannes Best Actress award for "Secret Sunshine", is widely loved for her chameleon-like acting.
Period pieces reviving the splendor of the Joseon Kingdom (1392-1910) have always been a popular genre. You can see how Yeonsan-gun, the Machiavelli of Korea, was depicted by different generations of iconic directors including Shin Sang-ok and Lee Jun-ik. It also features the set of a fancy noble lady's room that appeared in "Untold Scandal" (2003).
For children, the special animation zone will be a real treat. It displays a neat claymation (animation of models constructed from clay and plasticine) set and an interactive computer quiz game. There's also a machine that demonstrates the science of animation or moving cartoons.
For students, there are events that are educational and entertaining, like making optical devices of popular 19th-century Western movies and creating your own lines for silent films. Teens can also partake in debating sessions about old Korean movies and interaction between the movie and the media.
All the descriptions and labels for the exhibition are in Korean. An automated English audio guide will be available beginning June.
Classic Film Festival
In celebration of the museum's opening, KOFA is hosting a film festival through May 25 at the cinematheque, found at the basement of KOFA, one floor below the museum. Outside the theater, you will notice antique posters and gadgets on display as well as a retro-style cafe or "dabang" complete with a DJ booth.
The festival is a special opportunity to see rare jewels of old classics. At the opening ceremony last Friday for the museum and film festival, the country's oldest surviving film "Turning Point of the Youngsters" (1936) was resurrected on the big screen, complete with a film interpreter who narrated the lines onstage.
The closing film is "Hong Gil-dong" (1967), the country's oldest feature animation. It comes back to life after 41 years. Other rare-to-see works include Shin Sang-ok's "Bound by Chastity Rules" (1962), which was featured in the Cannes Classics section last year in France; African-American director Charles Burnett's "Killer of Sheep" (1977); Japanese classic "The Heike Story" (1955); and French Nouvelle Vague film "Eva" (1962).
There are also movies from the 30s and 40s that portray city life in Gyeongseong (old name of Seoul), Shanghai and Hong Kong, as well as Samurai silent movies and war epics leant from the Hong Kong Film Archive.
There are truly epic works on show as well, like the five-hour-long "La Commune" (1871) by Peter Watkins. There are also old, star-studded box office hits like "A Chinese Ghost Story" (1987) starring the late Leslie Cheung and "Umbrellas of Cherbourg" (1964) with Catherine Deneuve.
Movie Library
Upstairs on the second floor, there's a Film Reference Library where you can watch movies for free, including black and white classics and the recent flicks you missed in theaters. It's small but it offers enough fun to go around for everyone. There are individual booths with flat-screen TVs and DVD players, for one or two people, and groups of three or more can reserve a separate room. The library also has movie soundtrack CDs and books, including volumes of local and foreign film magazines like Cine21, Cahiers du Cinema and Animation Magazine.
Before you leave, look around the gift shop, which sells nifty little souvenirs like 3D pop-up storybooks inspired by famous movies and more. There are also a couple English books on Korean cinema.
The Korean Film Archive is a 15-minute walk from Susaek station on subway line 6. Visit Open the link for details. For information about Korean movies in English, visit the Korean Movie Database Open the linkOpen the link for more information. For a full list of Korean movies in English, visit the Korean Movie Database Open the link.
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