Cinema of South Korea
| Cinema of Korea | |
|---|---|
Movie theater in Sinchon
|
|
| No. of screens | 1,974 (2011) |
| • Per capita | 4.3 per 100,000 (2011) |
| Main distributors |
CJ E&M Pictures (22%) Showbox (17%) Walt Disney Pictures (11%) (2015) |
| Produced feature films (2005-2009) | |
| Total | 118 (average) |
| Number of admissions (2015) | |
| Total | 217,000,000 |
| National films | 113,000,000 (52%) |
| Gross box office (2015) | |
| Total | ₩1.72 trillion |
| National films | ₩884 billion |
The cinema of South Korea has grown significantly over the past few decades.
Korean cinema starts around liberation of Korea in 1945. Korean film first garnered serious international recognition in 2002. Well known Korean films include Oldboy (2003 film).
With the surrender of Japan in 1945, and the subsequent liberation of Korea, liberty itself became a predominant theme of Korean cinema.Choi In-gyu's Viva Freedom! (Hangul: 자유 만세; Jayu manse!), which is about Korean freedom-fighters during the waning days of the colonial period, is considered the major film of this era.
According to the Korean film archive, 14 movies were produced during the Korean War, of which only four or five were produced each year from 1950 to 1953.
During the armistice of 1953, South Korean president Syngman Rhee made an effort to rejuvenate the film industry by exempting it from taxation. The movie renaissance that was seeded in 1945 advanced as a result of director Lee Kyu-hwan's successful remake of Chunhyang-jeon in 1955. Within two months, 10% of Seoul's population—over 200,000 people—had seen the movie, giving the film industry further impetus.
1955 also saw the release of Yang san Province (Hangul: 양산도; Yangsan-do) by Kim Ki-young, marking the beginning of a film career that would remain productive until the director's death in 1998.
The quality and quantity of films in South Korea increased throughout the 1950s. In the early 1950s, five movies were made per year, whereas 111 films were produced in 1959.
Korean cinema enjoyed a brief period of freedom from censorship during the 1960–61 year interval between the administrations of Rhee and Park Chung Hee. This year saw the production of Kim Ki-young's The Housemaid (Hangul: 하녀; Hanyeo), and Yu Hyun-mok's Aimless Bullet (Hangul: 오발탄; Obaltan), which have both been listed among the best Korean films ever made.
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