This book represents the world’s first monograph on Korean cinema. It delves into its history, from 1900 to the present day, exploring its major trends, films, and the most globally renowned directors and actors.
Parasite, Decision to Leave, Oldboy, or The Chaser – these works readily come to mind in light of the phenomenon that gave its name to this book, the “hallyu,” which refers to the international success and global spread of Korean pop culture. The term is to be taken in its literal sense: the wave, and this book unveils the submerged dynamics crucial to Korean cinema.
Through this book, we discover that Korean cinema’s allure can be attributed, in part, to its unique style that resonates with the cinematic cultures that have influenced it from its inception. It interprets and sheds light on these influences from its own perspective. Korean film productions draw inspiration from a wide range of sources, including American blockbusters, French New Wave, Italian spaghetti westerns, and Hong Kong kung-fu films, to name only a few examples.
The book also presents the historical contexts and artistic and/or political commitments that have contributed to these distinct atmospheres and aesthetics.
In a nutshell, this book, with its comprehensive and precise analyses, coupled with its highly evocative and often unseen images, stands as an essential contribution to the history of global cinema”.
Dimension: 190 × 260 mm
352 pages – 172 color pictures
40 €
Release (France / Switzerland / Belgium) : October 25th
Bastian Meiresonne is an expert in Asian cinema, press writer, and co-author of a dozen books, including “Le Dictionnaire du cinéma asiatique” (New World Ed., 2008). He also serves as a programmer and artistic director for Asian films at various film festivals. He has been responsible for several retrospectives featuring Mongolia, Sri Lanka, Indonesia, Thailand, and Korea. Additionally, he is the director of “Garuda Power” (2014), a documentary dedicated to Indonesian (action) cinema.
