Representations of Japan in South Korean Cinema of the Park Geun-hye Era
Providing a rare example of a national cinema that has managed to overturn the prevailing global paradigm of Hollywood dominance, South Korean films are nevertheless still haunted by the peninsula’s earlier colonial history. Focussing on a series of films produced during the administration of disgraced and then pardoned President Park Geun-hye (2013–2017), this book examines South Korea’s relationship with Japan and how this relationship continues to be negotiated through films and politics. Containing detailed discussion of significant and internationally renowned films including The Age of Shadows, The Handmaiden and the domestically popular, The Admiral: Roaring Currents, this informative text is a welcome addition to South Korean Film Studies that will also be valued for its examination of how film cycles operate in non-Hollywood cinema. Offering a perceptive look at an underexplored area, this book will be embraced by professionals and laypersons intrigued by South Korea and Japan’s frequently tense relationship.
Dr Russell Edwards has been a professional film critic since the early 1990s, reviewed for Variety (2003–2012) and was President of the Film Critics Circle of Australia (2004–2006). A former advisor to the Busan International Film Festival, he is currently preparing an essay collection about the films of Peter Weir.