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Monash University Korean Studies Research Hub (MUKSRH) presents:

 

Monash Beyond Borders Korean Studies Seminar Series 2024

Seminar 6

'State of Criminality: Cinematic Depictions of 1970s and 1980s South Korea.'

Prof. Kyung Moon Hwang (ANU)

 

 Room G03, Learning & Teaching Building (LTB), Clayton VIC 3168 & Zoom

4th October, 2pm AEST

Abstract: 

South Korean feature films set in the 1970s and 80s have tended to highlight the criminality of the period, led by the authoritarian state itself. The idea is that, as an increasingly brutal autocracy veering toward fascist rule in the 1970s and 1980s, the South Korean military dictatorships blurred if not decimated the line between legality and illegality. In addition to highlighting the underworld, these films have featured the instruments of state enforcement, such as the KCIA or police, in order to accentuate the overlap between such actors and criminals. This presentation demonstrates how such cinematic portrayals have sought to historicise this era of South Korean military rule through the notion of state criminality. It will do so through an analysis of the semiotics, visual cues, and storylines of primarily two films set in the 1970s and 1980s, respectively: “The Drug King” (Mayag-wang [U Min-ho, 2018]) and “Memories of Murder” (Sarin ui chu-eok [Bong Jun-ho, 2003]). These two works are representative of South Korean historical films that establish strong historical connections to the country’s history of developmentalist dictatorships while implying the lingering presence of that past in contemporary times.  

Bio: 

Kyung Moon Hwang is Korea Foundation Professor in the School of Culture, History, & Language at the Australian National University and currently serves as Director of the ANU Korea Institute. He is the author of Fate and Freedom in Korean Historical Films (2023), A History of Korea (Third Edition, 2021), Past Forward: Essays in Korean History (2019), Rationalizing Korea: The Rise of the Modern State (2015), and Beyond Birth: Social Status in the Emergence of Modern Korea (2004). At ANU he teaches courses on Korean history, society, culture, and language.

Register here for a ZOOM link.

Please contact Monash University Korean Studies Research Hub Coordinator

Ms Sandy Nguyen for further details.Sandy.Nguyen1@monash.edu