National Cinema of Korea

National Cinema of Korea
Titles Available as of August 1, 2008

Filmographies are created by doing multiple keyword searches in the ALADIN catalog to capture as many titles on a topic as possible; for example, this filmography was created primarily by selecting from the results of the following keyword search:

Korea? AND eaun.

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Documentaries by Korean Directors

3 extremes = Saam gaang yi. South Korea. 2004. (125 min.). A bracing anthology of horror stories uniting three of East Asia’s most compelling directors : Miike Takashi, Fruit Chan, and Park Chan-Wook. DVD 2746

3 iron = Bin-jip. South Korea/Japan. 2004. (88 min.). When a mysterious drifter breaks into a mansion, he discovers a lonely, beautiful woman trapped in an abusive marriage. When she escapes on the back of his motorcycle, their romantic adventures are just beginning. DVD 3844

301, 302. South Korea. 1995. (100 min.). In a series of provocative and sometimes shocking flashbacks, film explores the relationship between two women who share common, yet completely dissimilar obsessions about food and men. [Apt.] 301 is a divorced, gourmet chef who can - and does - cook anything. Her reclusive neighbor [Apt.] 302, a writer, becomes ill at the mere sight of food. The investigation begins when the young woman in 302 mysteriously disappears, and a detective calls on her neighbor in 301. VHS 5489

Bow = Hwal. South Korea/Japan. 2005. (90 min.). A 60-year-old man has been raising a girl since she was six years old, and plans to marry her when she turns 17. Living their lives together on a fishing boat, he is very protective of her and will gladly put an arrow into anyone who touches her. She is content with her life until a young man introduces her to a world beyond. DVD 3817

Brotherhood of war = Taegukgi hwinalrimyeo. South Korea. 2004. (148 min.). In 1950, in South Korea, the shoe-shiner Jin-tae Lee and his eighteen years old student brother Jin-seok Lee form a poor but happy family with their mother, Jin-tae’s fiancé Young-shin Kim and her young sisters. Jin-tae and his mother are tough workers, who sacrifice themselves to send Jin-seok to the university. When North Korea invades the South, the family escapes to a relative’s house in the country, but along their journey, Jin-seok is forced to join the army to fight in the front, and Jin-tae enlists too to protect his young brother. The commander promises Jin-tae that if he gets a medal he would release his brother, and Jin-tae becomes the braver soldier in the company. Along the bloody war between brothers, the relationship of Jin-seok with his older brother deteriorates leading to a dramatic and tragic end. DVD 4072

Chunhyang. South Korea. 2000. (120 min.) Set in 18th century Korea. Mongryong, the son of a governor, falls in love with Chunhyang, the daughter of a proud former courtesan, and they secretly marry out of fear of reprisal. Trouble results when Mongryong is ordered to Seoul to finish his education, and a new, vindictive governor pursues Chunhyang and then imprisons her when she refuses his advances. DVD 1112

Host = Gwoemul. South Korea. 2006. (119 min.). "A creature plunges from a bridge into the Han River emerging on its shores for a feeding frenzy upon onlookers. When a young girl is snatched in the melee, her family sets off to recover her from the monster that the government claims to be a host of an identified virus"--Container. DVD 3813

Lady vengeance = Chinjeolhan geumjassi. South Korea. 2005. (112 min.). After being wrongfully convicted of a crime, a young woman is imprisoned for 13 years and forced to give up her daughter. Upon her release, she sets in motion an elaborate plan of retribution, but does not know what is in store. DVD 3114

Memories of Murder = Salinui chueok. South Korea. 2003. (132 min.). Based on a true story, the film takes place in a small village in Korea where an intense police investigation follows a series of brutal rapes and murders. DVD 1619

Oldboy = Oldeuboi. South Korea. 2003. (120 min.). After being kidnapped and imprisoned for 15 years, Daesu is released and sets out to find his abductors. DVD 1612

Painted fire = Chihwaseon. South Korea. 2002. (116 min.). In a time of political and social unrest in 19th century Korea, an uncouth, self-taught painter explores his natural talent amidst the repressive world around him. DVD 4103

Samaritan girl: a dark tale of revenge = Samaria. South Korea. 2004. (97 min.). Jae-Young is a prostitute who sleeps with men while her best friend Yeo-Jin "manages" her. Yeo-Jin fixes dates, takes care of the money and makes sure the coast is clear. When Jae-Young falls in love with one of her johns, she has to surpress her feelings towards him. One day Yeo-Jin fails in doing her duty by not looking out for police officers searching for underaged prostitutes. In order to not get caught Jae-Young jumps out of a window nearly killing herself. On her deathbed, she wishes to see the man again whom she fell in love with and turned away from. Trying to understand her best friend, Yeo-Jin tracks down every man she slept with. DVD 3843

Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter... and Spring = Bom yeoreum gaeul gyeoul geurigo bom. South Korea/Germany. 2003. (103 min.). A chronicle of the life of a Buddhist monk from childhood to the end of his days. HOME USE COLLECTION DVD 1476

Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance = Boksuneum naui geot. South Korea. 2002. (122 min.). Unable to afford proper care for his sister dying from kidney failure, Ryu turns to the black market to sell his own organs only to end up cheated of his life savings. His girlfriend urges Ryu to kidnap the daughter of wealthy industrialist Dong-jin, who recently laid him off. Ryu agrees, but unforseen tragedies turn an innocent con into a merciless quest for reveng. Bound by their personal losses and deep-seated anger, the two men are thrust into a spiral of destruction. DVD 3113

Time = Shi gan. Japan/South Korea. 2006. (97 min.). After 2 years together, Seh-hee thinks Ji-woo no longer finds her attractive and disappears. Reappearing six months later with a new name and a surgically altered face, she woos her lover again. Now, she has to compete against the memory of her old self. When she confesses her deception, their rediscovered romance is forced to walk a tightrope of tragedy. DVD 3845

Why Has Bodhi-Dharma Left for the East? = Dharmaga tongjoguro kan kkadalgun. South Korea. 1989. (137 min.). In a remote monastery high up in the mountains an old master, a young monk and an orphaned boy devote themselves to their Buddhist teachings. As the master faces death, he must lead his disciples away from their past ties to the outside world and its rapidly changing values, and point them toward their quest for enlightenment. VHS 3345

Documentaries by Korean Directors

Inside the hermit kingdom: North Korea. USA. 2004. (52 min.). A film by I Sun-Dyung. "North Korea is known as the hermit kingdom because it has been cut off from the rest of the world. Cruelly colonized by Japan early in the 20th century, and split from the south after World War II by cold war politics, it has suffered repressive governments and frequent famines. Included are in -depth interviews with a former bodyguard of the "Dear Leader" Kim Jong-IL and testimonies from defectors and survivors of the country’s infamous concentration camps." -- from container. VHS 7713

Japan and Korea: Century of cinema. UK. 1997. (104 min.). British Film Institute. 100 years of Japanese cinema / written and directed by Nagisa Oshima -- The cinema on the road / directed by Jang Sun-Woo. Contains two documentaries on Japanese and Korean cinema. "’100 Years of Japanese Cinema’ is an informative and moving account of Japan’s film history. From start to finish, director Nagisa Oshima shows nothing but clips and stills from Japanese films - no interviews or testimonies, no filler, no distractions. ’The Cinema on the road’ is Jang Sun-Woo’s witty and mordant essay on one of the world’s least-known film cultures opening with a shot of a traditional shamanist exorcism. Jang took to the road in seach of the core of Korean cinema, and the film is framed as a diary of his quest. He interviews noted film-makers such as Im Kwon-Taek, Lee Jang-Ho, and Chung Ji-Young, as well as a group of demonstrating farmers and a Kwangji cinema manager." - from container. VHS 7236 [PAL version]

Mastering W.T.F. tae kwon do ( v.6. Basic self-defense -- v.7. Advanced self-defense) 1988. Written, performed & narrated by Sang H. Kim. Master Sim teaches the techniques of tae kwon do as authorized by the World Tae Kwon Do Federation. The Federation is recognized by the Korean government and by the Olympic Committee. VHS 3407

Play it again Nam: a portrait of Nam June Paik. USA. 1995. (26 min.). Profiles the career of Nam June Paik, a Korean-American neo-Dadaist performance artist. Paik, born in Seoul in 1932, lives in several New York City lofts which more closely resemble Ali Baba’s cave than artists’ ateliers. Some of the performances that made him famous (or even infamous) include dragging behind him a violin attached to a string, breaking a violin, and playing the piano with a camera. More currently, in his Cincinnati factory, he builds cutting-edge video robots and audiovisual sculptures. Paik plays with images, and mixes them up to create another image: his own; he plays endlessly with keyboards, musical or image-enhancing. Artist, engineer, musician of images, he is interested in everything -- reception, technology, theory. VHS 6198

See you in Seoul 1988. South Korea. 1986. (45 min.). Presents an introduction to the history and culture of Korea in order to prepare the viewer for a visit to the 24th Olympiad to be held in Seoul in 1988. VHS 329

Silence broken Korean comfort women. South Korea. 1998. (57 min.). Written, directed and produced by Dai Sil Kim-Gibson. A documentary on Korean comfort women who were forced into sexual servitude by the Japanese Imperial Army during World War II. VHS 6425

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