REVIEW OF THE REMASCUUNIZATION OF KOREAN CINEMA BY KYUNG HYUN KIM

摘要

In The Remasculinization of Korean Cinema, Kyung Hyun Kim explores the changing conditions and representations of masculinity in South Korean films since 1980 through textual analysis of representative films. In so doing, he situates the efflorescence of the "New Korean Cinema," which culminated between the mid-1980s and the late-1990s, within the tumultuous history of modern Korea. According to Kim, masculine identity is one of the most noticeable and interesting characteristics of the New Korean Cinema. Although a historical account, Kim's analysis continues to be useful for recent films—in particular the two most commercially successful films of 2004, Silmido and Taegukgi: the Brotherhood of War—wherein a group of male characters relive the trauma of the Korean War in a way similar to that shown during the climax of the New Korean Cinema. Thus this book allows readers less familiar with Korean films to easily understand the current Korean cinematic phenomena, while also acting as a wonderful invitation and guide to its recent history.