Remembering the Forgotten War: Origins of the Korean War Film and Its Development during Hallyu

• Main Author: David, Joel
• Format: text
• Published: Archīum Ateneo 2024
• Subjects: Hollywood; New Korean Cinema; war-film genre; world cinema
• Online Access: https://archium.ateneo.edu/kk/vol1/iss28/8; https://archium.ateneo.edu/context/kk/article/2113/viewcontent/_5BKKv00n28_2017_5D_203.4_ForumKritika_David.pdf
• Institution: Ateneo De Manila University

As the Cold War proxy conflict that provided a happy ending for the Western alliance that fought for the South Korean side, the Korean War became a recurrent and idealized subject for American film productions. A generally overlooked trend, however, is the fact that Korea itself subsequently embarked on a reflective series of cinematic discourses on the war and its aftermath, during the period when the country’s popular culture (eventually dubbed hallyu) began to attract foreign interest. The contrast between post-war Hollywood images and fairly contemporary Korean output regarding the topic provides a starting point for studying issues pertaining to trauma, history, power, knowledge, and difference.