| This dissertation examines cinematic representations of history on contemporary South Korean screen and the practices of film historiography in South Korea during a decade of democratic regimes are the subjects of this study. Between 1998 and 2008, during two liberal presidencies, the Korean film industry flourished and some of the most critical and traumatic events in the past were re-visited and re-visioned in popular films. 2009 Lost Memories and Hanbando employ alternative re-writings of the past, present, and future to portray the experiences of Japanese colonial occupations. The Korean War is re-examined in a more ambiguous and critical light in Taegukgi: The Brotherhood of War and Welcome to Dongmakgol, while Peppermint Candy and Splendid Vacation strive for capturing people's history, not an officially imposed version of History, in telling of the Gwangju Democratization Movement. As complex social constructions, the films analyzed in this dissertation reveal that South Koreans are finally able to ruminate on their past in a less simplistic and more complex manner without censorship. |
