Park Kwang-su
Encyclopedia
Park Kwang-su is a Korean filmmaker. He was born in Sokcho
, Gangwon Province
, South Korea
on January 22, 1955 and grew up in Busan
, South Korea. Park joined the Yallasung Film Group as a student of Fine Arts at Seoul National University
. Upon graduation, he founded and led the Seoul Film Group which was dedicated to renewing Korean film culture and closely tied to the student protest movement. The Seoul Film Group was a significant part of the independent film movement and a strong voice speaking out against the military dictatorship. Park studied film at the ESEC film school in Paris, then returned to Korea to work as an assistant director to Lee Chang-Ho. He made his own first feature in 1988
, and in 1993
became the first Korean filmmaker to found his own production company.
Park is considered the leader of the "New Korean Cinema" movement and one of Korea's most distinguished filmmakers. His films have garnered critical acclaim and he has received numerous domestic and international awards for his films.
The New Korean Wave was made possible by two developments: a partial relaxation of censorship and the second change in film policy. Due to the relaxation of censorship, filmmakers such as Park Kwang-Su had more freedom to produce films that were originally prohibited by the government during the early censorship periods. The second film policy made it easier for independent producers like Park to enter the Korean film industry. Rather than trying to fill the “quotas” to produce mediocre Korean films, Park and other independent film producers were able to collaborate on quality films that pushed for social change. Without these policy changes, Park Kwang-Su would not have been able to make such films such as Chilsu and Mansu, which was a catalyst to the wave of New Korean Cinema. “While all of Park's movies are firmly rooted in the political history of his country, he belongs to a group of international filmmakers whose work transcends their specific political situations to address, with great artistry, more universal issues of human freedom.”
Sokcho
Sokcho is a city in Gangwon-do province, South Korea. It is located in the far northeast of Gangwon-do. Lying north of the 38th parallel, the city belonged to North Korea from 1945 until the end of the Korean War, when the dividing line between the two Korean states was officially altered....
, Gangwon Province
Gangwon-do (South Korea)
Gangwon-do is a province of South Korea, with its capital at Chuncheon. Before the division of Korea in 1945, Gangwon and its North Korean neighbour Kangwŏn formed a single province.-History:...
, South Korea
South Korea
The Republic of Korea , , is a sovereign state in East Asia, located on the southern portion of the Korean Peninsula. It is neighbored by the People's Republic of China to the west, Japan to the east, North Korea to the north, and the East China Sea and Republic of China to the south...
on January 22, 1955 and grew up in Busan
Busan
Busan , formerly spelled Pusan is South Korea's second largest metropolis after Seoul, with a population of around 3.6 million. The Metropolitan area population is 4,399,515 as of 2010. It is the largest port city in South Korea and the fifth largest port in the world...
, South Korea. Park joined the Yallasung Film Group as a student of Fine Arts at Seoul National University
Seoul National University
Seoul National University , colloquially known in Korean as Seoul-dae , is a national research university in Seoul, Korea, ranked 24th in the world in publications in an analysis of data from the Science Citation Index, 7th in Asia and 42nd in the world by the 2011 QS World University Rankings...
. Upon graduation, he founded and led the Seoul Film Group which was dedicated to renewing Korean film culture and closely tied to the student protest movement. The Seoul Film Group was a significant part of the independent film movement and a strong voice speaking out against the military dictatorship. Park studied film at the ESEC film school in Paris, then returned to Korea to work as an assistant director to Lee Chang-Ho. He made his own first feature in 1988
1988 in film
-Top grossing films :- Awards :Academy Awards:* Act of Piracy* Action Jackson, starring Carl Weathers, Craig T. Nelson, Vanity, Sharon Stone* The Adventures of Baron Munchausen* Akira* Alice...
, and in 1993
1993 in film
The year 1993 in film involved many significant films, including the blockbuster hits Jurassic Park, The Fugitive and The Firm. -Events:...
became the first Korean filmmaker to found his own production company.
Park is considered the leader of the "New Korean Cinema" movement and one of Korea's most distinguished filmmakers. His films have garnered critical acclaim and he has received numerous domestic and international awards for his films.
Park Kwang Su's Influence: The Emergence of the New Korean Wave
With the formation of new French and German cultural centers in Seoul, screenings of foreign art films were held, which eventually led to the creation of cinema clubs in which film was discussed and studied. Names such as Park Kwang-su, Chung Ji-young, Kim Hong-joon, and a number of other directors, producers and film critics were exposed to a world of international cinema and eventually branched off in order to create films and documentaries that showed Korean culture and history through the viewpoint of the people, predominantly the working class. Some of these short films and documentaries were produced by the Seoul Film Collective which was launched in 1982 and made up of Seoul National University graduates including Park Kwang-su, Jang Sun-woo and other directors. That Summer (1984), which focused on labourers from rural areas working in Seoul and Suri-se (1984), which touched upon agricultural issues in southwestern Korea, are just two of the works that the Seoul Film Collective produced.The New Korean Wave was made possible by two developments: a partial relaxation of censorship and the second change in film policy. Due to the relaxation of censorship, filmmakers such as Park Kwang-Su had more freedom to produce films that were originally prohibited by the government during the early censorship periods. The second film policy made it easier for independent producers like Park to enter the Korean film industry. Rather than trying to fill the “quotas” to produce mediocre Korean films, Park and other independent film producers were able to collaborate on quality films that pushed for social change. Without these policy changes, Park Kwang-Su would not have been able to make such films such as Chilsu and Mansu, which was a catalyst to the wave of New Korean Cinema. “While all of Park's movies are firmly rooted in the political history of his country, he belongs to a group of international filmmakers whose work transcends their specific political situations to address, with great artistry, more universal issues of human freedom.”
Filmography
- 1988 Chilsu wa MansuChilsu and MansuChilsu and Mansu is a 1988 South Korean film, and noted director Park Kwang-su's debut film. Though not a box-office hit , the film is remembered as a major step towards freedom of expression in South Korean cinema.Chilsu and Mansu marks the directorial debut of Park Kwang-su, who would go on to...
(Chilsu and Mansu) - 1990 Keudeuldo UrichoeroemBlack RepublicBlack Republic is an award-winning 1990 South Korean film directed by Park Kwang-su.-Synopsis:...
(Black Republic) - 1991 Berlin Report
- 1993 Geuseom e Kago ShiptaTo the Starry IslandTo the Starry Island is an award-winning 1993 South Korean film directed by Park Kwang-su.-Synopsis:...
(To the Starry Island) - 1995 Areumdaun Cheongnyeon Jeon Tae-ilA Single SparkA Single Spark is an award-winning 1995 South Korean film.-Synopsis:...
(A Single Spark) - 1999 Yi Chae-su ui nan (Uprising)
External links
- Interview with Park Kwang-Su at CineKorea (archived)