Half century of Korean cinema

“Panorama: 50 years of Korean Cinema” is a film festival celebrating the last half century of Korean films. A total of 54 selected Korean movies with English subtitles will be screened. Audiences can attend forums and discussions with renowned directors and actors.
The festival presents a special opportunity for those who wish to understand Korean culture through film. It is focused on the period from 1954 to 2004, beginning a year after the Korean War, when Koreans resumed to make their own films.
Korean movies that dealt with the Japanese occupation and the horrors of civil war served as a kind of therapy to heal deep wounds. Viewing over half a century of Korean film, you get glimpses of the nation’s modern history through present-day.
For the first eight days, movies that were commercially successful, recognized abroad or showcase interesting aspects of Korean life will be presented by decade. During the second half of the festival, theme collections such as “big hits,” “love stories,” “variety in Korean cinema” and “Korean traditions” will be shown.
On the roster are such box-office hits as “Madame Freedom (1956),” “The Young with Naked Foot (1964),” “Winter Woman (1977),” “Seopyeonje (1993),” “Joint Security Area (2000)” and “Friend (2001).” Also showing are movies regarded as great aesthetic achievements like “An Aimless Bullet (1961),” “The Road to Sampo (1975)” and “Spring in My Hometown (1999).”
The father of Korean cult films, Kim Ki-young, will be represented by three movies: “The Housemaid (1960),” “Promises (1975)” and “I-eo Island (1977).”
Korean box office history can be viewed from Jan. 1 to 15 at Hollywood Cinema near Insa-dong.
On Jan. 3 and 10, night screenings are scheduled. If you have ever been curious about Korean movies, make a New Year’s trip to Insa-dong, where you will find a large representative sample of Korean movie history.

by Song Hee-jung

More information is available at http://panorama.nkino.com.