Leiden University Student Repository

Müskens, Vincent (2014)

Redeeming the colonial past: Representations of national identity through gender in contemporary South Korean cinema

Master thesis | Asian Studies (60 EC) (MA)

This thesis examines in what way the modern South Korean National Identity is represented in contemporary Korean cinema that takes the colonial past as its subject. The Korean colonial past still is a sensitive and much discussed historical subject and modern film representations of this often present biased views. Cinema is taken to be a preeminent way of representing the past that not only tells us a lot about present-day views on a subject, but also influences these views. Firstly a theoretical framework is provided in which the importance of both modern-day national identity and the influence of cinema on this form of identity is discussed. In light of this framework six contemporary South Korean films are discussed with a division placed between male representations and female representations of national identity. Throughout this discussion it becomes clear that in an attempt to reshape the national identity and historical memory of Korea to a more positive one, these films...Show moreThis thesis examines in what way the modern South Korean National Identity is represented in contemporary Korean cinema that takes the colonial past as its subject. The Korean colonial past still is a sensitive and much discussed historical subject and modern film representations of this often present biased views. Cinema is taken to be a preeminent way of representing the past that not only tells us a lot about present-day views on a subject, but also influences these views. Firstly a theoretical framework is provided in which the importance of both modern-day national identity and the influence of cinema on this form of identity is discussed. In light of this framework six contemporary South Korean films are discussed with a division placed between male representations and female representations of national identity. Throughout this discussion it becomes clear that in an attempt to reshape the national identity and historical memory of Korea to a more positive one, these films place a heavy emphasis on the masculine spirit of the nation and often neglect to include female agency in the fight against Japan.Show less

National Identity

Colonial Korea

South Korea

Gender

Historical Cinema

Author

Müskens, Vincent

Faculty

Faculty of Humanities

Specialisation

HAC

Supervisors

Breuker, R.E.

ECTS Credits

15

Language

en