Park Kwang-su

Last updated
Park Kwang-su
Born (1955-01-22) January 22, 1955 (age 69)
Alma mater Seoul National University (bachelor's degree in fine arts)
Occupation(s) Film director, screenwriter
Years active1988–present
Korean name
Hangul
박광수
Hanja
Revised Romanization Bak Gwang-su
McCune–Reischauer Pak Kwang-su

Park Kwang-su (born January 22, 1955) is a South Korean filmmaker. He was born in Sokcho, Gangwon Province and grew up in Busan. 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.

Contents

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.

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

Films

Short films credits
YearTitleCredited asRef.
EnglishKoreanDirectorScreenwriterProducerOther
1986 Lee Jang-ho's Baseball Team 이장호의 외인구단 Lee Jang-ho Chi Sang-hak Lee Jang-ho Assistant Director
1988 Chilsu and Mansu 칠수와 만수Park Kwang-suChoe In-seokLee Woo-suk [1]
1990 Black Republic 그들도 우리처럼
  • Yun Dae-seong
  • Kim Sung-su
  • Park Kwang-su
Editor [2]
1991Berlin Report베를린 리포트Park Kwang-suSeo Byeong-gi [3]
1993 To the Starry Island 그 섬에 가고싶다Park Kwang-suPark Kwang-su [4]
1995 A Single Spark 아름다운 청년 전태일
  • Lee Chang-dong
  • Kim Jeong-hwan
  • Yi Hyo-in
  • Hur Jin-ho
  • Park Kwang-su
Yoo In-taek [5]
1996Beautiful Youth Jeon Tae-il전태일의 비밀Park Kwang-su
Kim Yun-tae
[6]
1997 Wild Animals 야생동물 보호구역 Kim Ki-duk Kim Ki-duk Kwon Ki-yeongExecutive Producer [7]
1999Uprising이재수의 난Park Kwang-suPark Kwang-suYoo In-taek [8]
2003If You Were Me여섯개의 시선
  • Lim Soon-rye
  • Jeong Jae-eun
  • Yeo Kyun-dong
  • Lim Soon-rye
  • Im Yeon-hui
  • Jeong Jae-eun
  • Park Jin-pyo
  • Park Kwang-su
  • Park Chan-wook
Lee Hyeon-seung [9]
2007Meet Mr. Daddy눈부신 날에Park Kwang-suPark Kwang-su
Park Chae-woon
Jeong Hoon-tak
Oh Ki-min
[10]

Short films

Short films credits
YearTitleCredited asRef.
EnglishKoreanDirectorScreenwriter
1982Black Republic그들도 우리처럼Park Kwang-suPark Kwang-su [11]
Pannori Arirang판놀이아리랑 출연진
  • Park Kwang-su
  • Kim Hong-joon
  • Hwang Gyu-duk
  • Moon Won-rip
1999www.whitelover.com빤스 벗고 덤벼라Park Kwang-suPark Kwang-su [12]
20002000 Digital Short Films by Three Filmmakers 2000디지털 삼인삼색 2000 [13]

See also

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References

  1. "KMDb - Chilsu and Mansu". www.kmdb.or.kr. Retrieved 2023-11-04.
  2. "KMDb - Black Republic". www.kmdb.or.kr. Retrieved 2023-11-04.
  3. "KMDb - Berlin Report". www.kmdb.or.kr. Retrieved 2023-11-04.
  4. "KMDb - To the Starry Island". www.kmdb.or.kr. Retrieved 2023-11-04.
  5. "KMDb - A Single Spark". www.kmdb.or.kr. Retrieved 2023-11-04.
  6. "KMDb - Jeontaeirui bimil". www.kmdb.or.kr. Retrieved 2023-11-04.
  7. "KMDb - Wild Animals". www.kmdb.or.kr. Retrieved 2023-11-04.
  8. "KMDb - Uprising". www.kmdb.or.kr. Retrieved 2023-11-04.
  9. "KMDb - If You Were Me". www.kmdb.or.kr. Retrieved 2023-11-04.
  10. "KMDb - Meet Mr. Daddy". www.kmdb.or.kr. Retrieved 2023-11-04.
  11. "KMDb - Black Republic". www.kmdb.or.kr. Retrieved 2023-11-04.
  12. "빤스 벗고 덤벼라" [Take off your jacket and come at me]. 다음영화 (in Korean). Retrieved 2023-11-03.
  13. "KMDb - 2000 Digital Short Films by Three Filmmakers 2000". www.kmdb.or.kr. Retrieved 2023-11-04.

Bibliography