KIM Jee-woon


Book Description

KIM Jee-woon KIM Jee-woon is both a talented genre filmmaker and one of the few cineastes in today's Korean film possessing both skillful storytelling abilities and an original visual style. KIM began his career as a stage actor, stage director, and screenwriter. His films have been hailed by critics and audiences alike for his unique styles and method of storytelling. With KIM, there is a slightly uneasy coexistence of the virtues of a commercial film director and solitary auteurism; a sense of conscience that demands that he make even entertainment films melancholy; aesthetic judgment that is stinting toward genre film coupled with a director's dissatisfaction with that situation. His films represent a kind of theory of life presented through the conventions of genre film, and the director constantly provides a gaze of compassion toward the characters suffering within his films. Korean Film Directors Created by the Korean Film Council, this series offers deep insight into key directors in Korean film, figures who are not only broadening the range of art and creativity found in Korean-produced commercial films but also gaining increasingly strong footholds in international markets. Each volume features: - critical commentary on films - extensive interview - biography - complete filmography




Criminal Vol. 1: Coward


Book Description

The bestselling crime series returns in strikingly designed new editions from Image, starting where it all began: CRIMINAL, VOL. 1: COWARD„a new take on noir that turned the heist story on its head and created a whole new underworld for BRUBAKER & PHILLIPS to explore. BRUBAKER & PHILLIPSÍ recent series FATALE and The FADE OUT have brought their work to a wider audience of new readers, and now is the perfect time to show them the work that made the award-winning teamÍs reputation! ñBrubaker and PhillipsÍ books have always been about eight years ahead of their time.î -Brian K. Vaughan




Kim Jiyoung, Born 1982: A Novel


Book Description

A New York Times Editors Choice Selection A global sensation, Kim Jiyoung, Born 1982 “has become...a touchstone for a conversation around feminism and gender” (Sarah Shin, Guardian). One of the most notable novels of the year, hailed by both critics and K-pop stars alike, Kim Jiyoung, Born 1982 follows one woman’s psychic deterioration in the face of rampant misogyny. In a tidy apartment on the outskirts of Seoul, millennial “everywoman” Kim Jiyoung spends her days caring for her infant daughter. But strange symptoms appear: Jiyoung begins to impersonate the voices of other women, dead and alive. As she plunges deeper into this psychosis, her concerned husband sends her to a psychiatrist. Jiyoung narrates her story to this doctor—from her birth to parents who expected a son to elementary school teachers who policed girls’ outfits to male coworkers who installed hidden cameras in women’s restrooms. But can her psychiatrist cure her, or even discover what truly ails her? “A social treatise as well as a work of art” (Alexandra Alter, New York Times), Kim Jiyoung, Born 1982 heralds the arrival of international powerhouse Cho Nam-Joo.




New Korean Cinema


Book Description

New Korean Cinema charts the dramatic transformation of South Korea's film industry from the democratization movement of the late 1980s to the 2000s new generation of directors. The author considers such issues as government censorship, the market's embrace of Hollywood films, and the social changes which led to the diversification and surprising commercial strength of contemporary Korean films. Directors such as Hong Sang-soo, Kim Ki-duk, Park Chan-wook, and Bong Joon-ho are studied within their historical context together with a range of films including Sopyonje (1993), Peppermint Candy (1999), Oldboy (2003), and The Host (2006).




A Companion to the Gangster Film


Book Description

A companion to the study of the gangster film’s international appeal spanning the Americas, Europe, and Asia A Companion to the Gangster Film presents a comprehensive overview of the newest scholarship on the contemporary gangster film genre as a global phenomenon. While gangster films are one of America’s most popular genres, gangster movies appear in every film industry across the world. With contributions from an international panel of experts, A Companion to the Gangster Film explores the popularity of gangster films across three major continents, the Americas, Europe, and Asia. The authors acknowledge the gangster genre’s popularity and examine the reasons supporting its appeal to twenty-first century audiences across the globe. The book examines common themes across all three continents such as production histories and reception, gender race and sexuality, mafia mythologies, and politics. In addition, the companion clearly shows that no national cinema develops in isolation and that cinema is a truly global popular art form. This important guide to the gangster film genre: Reveals how the gangster film engages in complex and contradictory themes Examines the changing face of the gangster film in America Explores the ideas of gangsterism and migration in the Hispanic USA, Latin America and the Caribbean Discusses the wide variety of gangster types to appear in European cinema Contains a review of a wide-range of gangster films from the Americans, Europe, and Asia Written for academics and students of film, A Companion to the Gangster Film offers a scholarly and authoritative guide exploring the various aspects and international appeal of the gangster film genre.




The Journal of Korean Studies, Volume 16, Number 2 (Fall 2011)


Book Description

The University of Washington-Korea Studies Program, in collaboration with Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, is proud to publish the Journal of Korean Studies. In 1979 Dr. James Palais (PhD Harvard 1968), former UW professor of Korean History edited and published the first volume of the Journal of Korean Studies. For thirteen years it was a leading academic forum for innovative, in-depth research on Korea. In 2004 former editors Gi-Wook Shin and John Duncan revived this outstanding publication at Stanford University. In August 2008 editorial responsibility transferred back to the University of Washington. With the editorial guidance of Clark Sorensen and Donald Baker, the Journal of Korean Studies (JKS) continues to be dedicated to publishing outstanding articles, from all disciplines, on a broad range of historical and contemporary topics concerning Korea. In addition the JKS publishes reviews of the latest Korea-related books. To subscribe to the Journal of Korean Studies or order print back issues, please click here.







Contemporary Musical Film


Book Description

Since the turn of the millennium, films such as Chicago (2002) and Phantom of the Opera (2004) have reinvigorated the popularity of the screen musical. This edited collection, bringing together a number of international scholars, looks closely at the range and scope of contemporary film musicals, from stage adaptations like Mamma Mia! (2008) and Les Miserables (2012), to less conventional works that elide the genre, like Team America: World Police (2004) and Quentin Tarantino's Kill Bill (2003/04). Looking at the varying aesthetic function of soundtrack and lyric in films like Disney's wildly popular Frozen (2013) and the Fast and the Furious franchise, or the self-reflexive commentary of the 'post-millennial rock musical', this wide-ranging collection breaks new ground in its study of this multifaceted genre.




Eastern Westerns


Book Description

The western, one of Hollywood’s great film genres, has, surprisingly, enjoyed a revival recently in Asia and in other parts of the world, whilst at the same time declining in America. Although the western is often seen as an example of American cultural dominance, this book challenges this view. It considers the western from an Asian perspective, exploring why the rise of Asian westerns has come about, and examining how its aesthetics, styles and politics have evolved as a result. It analyses specific Asian Westerns as well as Westerns made elsewhere, including in Australia, Europe, and Hollywood, to demonstrate how these employ Asian philosophical and mythical ideas and value systems. The book concludes that the western is a genre which is truly global, and not one that that is purely intrinsic to America.




Introducing Korean Popular Culture


Book Description

This new textbook is a timely and interdisciplinary resource for students looking for an introduction to Korean popular culture, exploring the multifaceted meaning of Korean popular culture at micro and macro levels and the process of cultural production, representation, circulation and consumption in a global context. Drawing on perspectives from the humanities and social sciences, including media and communications, film studies, musicology, cultural studies, sociology, anthropology, history and literature, this book provides a comprehensive and up-to-date overview of Korean popular culture and its historical underpinnings, changing roles and dynamic meanings in the present moment of the digital social media age. The book’s sections include: K-pop Music Popular Cinema Television Web Drama, Webtoon and Animation Digital Games and Esports Lifestyle Media, Fashion and Food Nation Branding An accessible, comprehensive and thought-provoking work, providing historical and contemporary contexts, key issues and debates, this textbook will appeal to students of and providers of courses on popular culture, media studies and Korean culture and society more broadly.