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Establishes contextual and theoretical bases to help the reader understand cultural, political, and socioeconomic aspects of Korean film.

Table of Contents

Preface Korean Cinema: Philosophical Foundations and Theoretical Frameworks Oppression, Liberation, Censorship, and Depression: History and Major Trends of Korean Cinema from the 1910s to the 1970s Korean National Cinema in the 1980s: Enlightenment, Political Struggle, Social Realism, and Defeatism Auteur Criticism: In Case of Sunwoo Jang's "Taste of Heaven" Discourses of Modernity and Postmodernity in Contemporary Korean Cinema Hollywood Imagination, Foreign Films, and Korean Identity: Resistance, Assimilation, and Articulation New Korean Cinema: A Boom or a Renaissance? Index

About the Author

Eungjun Min is associate professor of communication at Rhode Island College. Jinsook Joo is professor of film studies at Chung-Ang University in Seoul, Korea. She is a producer of the documentary Keep the Vision Alive, an ethnography on Korean women filmmakers. Han Ju Kwak is an independent researcher. He is a PhD candidate in critical studies at the School of Cinema and Television at the University of Southern California.

Reviews

The three Korean authors of this carefully researched, thoughtful book are well equipped to introduce their subject to English-speaking audiences. They approach the Korean film industry chronologically, conveying a sense of the continuing interrelationship between the history of the region and the growth and (sometimes) paralysis of its film industry. . . . The plot synopses, descriptions, and evaluations of many films should prove useful to readers with no opportunity to view the movies. The bibliography includes both English and Korean sources. Highly recommended. All collections; all levels.
*Choice*

[A] valuable new addition to the growing body of English-language scholarship on Korean cinema. . . . [O]riginal examples of (con)textual analysis of significant Korean films throughout are fascinating.
*History: Reviews of New Books*