Photo Report – Korean Film Archive

Written by on April 26, 2011 in Arts, Worldwide Korea Bloggers

* This post is written by David Teszar, one of the Korea Blog’s Worldwide Korea Bloggers. 

 

Blogathon-2011-Banner

Blogathon-2011-Banner

Last autumn I visited the Korean Film Archive (KOFA) in Seoul and took some pictures which I’ve already shared with my Hungarian readers. Celebrating the first Korean Cinema Blogathon (props to Martin Cleary over at newkoreancinema.com), here comes the bilingual edition of that exlusive photo coverage, hope you’ll enjoy it!

Korean Film Archive

Korean Film Archive

Theater of KOFA

Theater of KOFA

This is how the KOFA’s cinema looks like.

Coffe shop, 1895

Coffe shop, 1895

Stylish coffee shop right next to the cinema. 1895 indicates the year when the first public screening was held by the Lumiére brothers.

Poster of Im Kwon-taek retrospective

When I was there, an Im Kwon-taek retrospective was being held.

Poster of Diary of King Yeonsan

Poster of Diary of King Yeonsan

Poster of Diary of King Yeonsan, directed by Im Kwon-taek. Trivia: the main actor in the middle, Yu In-chon used to be the ROK’s minister of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism until 27 January 2011.

the library of KOFA

the library of KOFA

I instantly fell in love with the library of KOFA. It’s ultra-modern, super clean and free!

The first sound film, 'The story of Chun-hyang'

Let’s take a look at KOFA’s Korean Film Museum!

Director Shin Sang-ok and Shin Film Studio

Shin Sang-ok and the legendary Shin Film Studio.

Choi Eun-hee and Marilyn Monroe

Choi Eun-hee and Marilyn Monroe

In my favourite picture Choi Eun-hee (the wife of Shin Sang-ok and a bona fide Korean film goddess) meets Marilyn Monroe in 1954. Related quote from Monroe: “Gee, I never thought I had an effect on people until I was in Korea!”

Actress Kim Ji-mi

Famous Korean actresses in the 50s. In the middle, you can see the picture of Kim Ji-mi. Trivia: last year a Kim Ji-mi retrospective was held in the Pusan International Film Festival (PIFF renamed to BIFF in 2011).

poster of Yonggary

poster of Yonggary

Trivia: did you know that Godzilla’s Korean brother is called Yonggary? The original movie (1967) was remade by Shim Hyung-rae (D-war) in 1999.

Korean film industry in 80s

Korean film industry in 80s

The heydays of Korean erotic cinema were in the 80s during the presidency of Chun Doo-hwan, whose 3S policy (Sex, Screen, Sport) softened up censorship in terms of the depiction of sexuality.

Photos from relevant Korean movies in the 80s

Photos from relevant Korean movies in the 80s

Such as A Fine, Windy Day, Madame Aema, Mulberry, Deep Blue Night etc.

A section about Korean cinephil culture

A section about Korean cinephil culture

A  photo of the first PIFF (1996) and the front pages of two major Korean film magazines, Kino (defunct since 2003, formerly edited by one of the most famous Korean film critics, Chung Sung-il) and Cine21 (still going strong).

Hallyu stars

Hallyu stars

Hallyu stars, from left to right: Cha Tae-hyun and Gianna Jun (My Sassy Girl), Lee Byung-hun, Lee Young-ae and Song Kang-ho (Joint Security Area), Jang Dong-gun and Won Bin (Taegukgi), Jung Woo-sung and Son Ye-jin (A Moment to Remember), Bae Yong-joon and Son Ye-jin (April Snow).

* The original piece can be read @ http://namhanman.blog.hu/2011/03/07/3_eves_a_namhanman_blog 

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The Worldwide Korea Bloggers (WKB) is a gathering of people from different parts of the world, all having affection for Korea. Currently, there are 50 bloggers from 17 different countries and they share their own precious experiences with Korea and its culture on Korea Blog.