Joseon Films in Newspaper Articles 1911-1917

Joseon Films in Newspaper Articles 1911-1917 (신문기사로 본 조선영화 1911-1917)
Edited by the Korean Film Archive (한국영상자료원); Korean Film Archive: 478 pp., 30,000 won

The Korean Film Archive brings the first volume in a series of research materials on Korean cinema during the Japanese colonial era (1910-45).

This is a compilation of newspaper articles that appeared between 1911 and 1917 in the Maeil Shinbo, the only Korean language daily published at the time.The first Korean film was produced in 1919, and so this book covers the “prehistoric” times of Korean film history.

The clips include detailed reports on the local cinema, theater and entertainment scene. We learn that theatergoers complained about students cutting class to watch a movie and couples displaying too much affection in public.

The articles, however, are difficult to read since they retain archaic spellings and Chinese characters. The twopage background information that opens each chapter (on each year) is very useful.