Hanyo / The Housemaid (dir. Kim Ki-young): a delirious melodrama critical of Western culture and Confucian traditions
Kim Ki-young, “Hanyo / The Housemaid” (1960) Delirious and overwrought in its soap-opera melodrama, this
Tag: Korean Films
Reviews of Korean-language films I find significant or interesting.
Broker: road film exploring complexities behind illegal baby adoptions in South Korea
Hirokazu Kore-eda, “Broker” (2022) A young woman brings her baby to a church’s baby box
Human Form: cosmetic surgery as a tool of social oppression to eliminate individuality and identity
Noh Doyeon, “Human Form” (2014) A deeply unsettling short film about a teenage schoolgirl’s quest
Korean Films | North American Films
The Dark Side of South Korea’s Incredible Economic Success: the harmful impact of South Korea’s industrialisation on its culture and people
“The Dark Side of South Korea’s Incredible Economic Success” (Explained with Dom, 1 June 2022)
Chinese and Chinese-language Films | Korean Films
How the Rich Ate South Korea: how the chaebol have dominated South Korean politics and economy since 1945
“How the Rich Ate South Korea” (Asianometry, March 2022) One paradox regarding South Korea’s economic
Korean Films | North American Films
The United States Started the Korean War: an unjust lie corrected
Carlton Meyer, “The United States Started the Korean War” (Tales of the American Empire, 11
Pinki: a modern fairy-tale of self-discovery through memories of old technology
Hyunsuk Kim, “Pinki” (2018) Initially looking like a Korean mash-up of Neil Blomkamp’s “District 9”
Korean Films | North American Films
Loyal Citizens of Pyongyang in South Korea: how South Korea and the US use North Korean defectors as propaganda tools
David Yun, “Loyal Citizens of Pyongyang in South Korea” (2018) Made by then UCLA undergraduate
Australian and New Zealand Films | Chinese and Chinese-language Films
The Secret Armada: North Korean ghost ship phenomenon covered in a superficial way
“The Secret Armada” (Foreign Correspondent, Australian Broadcasting Corporation, 14 July 2020) Despite the spine-tingling thrill
Korean Films | North American Films
The Mythical North Korean Threat: how the US exploits North-South Korean tensions for its own benefit
Carlton Meyer, “The Mythical North Korean Threat” (Tales of the American Empire, 26 June 2020)
