Online course: «The global success of South Korean cinema and TV series»
Which are the keys to the success of South Korean cinema and TV series? In this course we will do a historical review of these cultural industries through the globalising history carried out by the country since the 90s. Through this trip, we will remember some historical events that had an everlasting impact in these industries and, especially, these films and TV series have always been very important for the evolution of contemporary culture in South Korea, allowing us to understand how such a fast strategy of expansion has taken place in the last 25 years.
No previous knowledge is required, which means it can be an interesting activity for both those who enjoy South Korean fiction and those who want to start to become familiar with it.
Programme:
First session: The beginnings of globalization: the new Korean cinema
Beginning from the nineties, South Korea’s cinema industry began to experiment important changes that took place in the background of the Segyeghwa plan, announced for the first time in 1995 by former president Kim Young-Sam. The effects of globalization were reflected in a new wave of cinema that became familiar with the critics and the public as the “New Korean Cinema”. The 386 Generation of film directors, headed by Bong Joon-ho, Park Chan-wook, Kim Jee-woon, Lee Chan-dong, Kim Ki-duk and Hong Sang-soo, which obtained, unexpectedly, the greatest international recognition.
Second session: The latest tendencies of South Korean cinema
The consolidation of the 386 Generation, the proliferation of new talents or the experimentation with film genres consolidated the presence of South Korean cinema in the international scene. In this way, then, successes like Parasites (Gisaengchung, 2019), from Bong Joon-ho, have allowed to introduce this cinematography to the massive public, but they also answer an expansion strategy that has begun to reap its fruits.
Third session: The evolution of South Korean fiction TV series
The decade of the nineties led to the emergence of new TV cable channels, but have also increased their competitiveness in their gamble for local fiction. After the important sales from the series What is Love? (Sarangyi Mwogilrae, Park Cheol, 1991-1992) and the consolidation of South Korean fiction in this region with Winter Sonata (Gyeoul yeonga, Yun Seok-Ho and Lee Hyung-Min, 2002), the chinese and japanese media began to use the term Hallyu in order to define the stunning success and domination that this industry maintains even today.
Fourth session: South Korean fiction on digital platforms
Last, we will end our historical review in a dedicated session to the presence of South Korean fiction on digital platforms. From 2016 onwards, and with the participation of Netflix in the blockbuster Okja, from Bong Joon-ho, produced an exponential increase in the visibilization of South Korean cinema and TV series. In this way, it made easier its circulation in a global scale and has allowed us access to a great variety of content from our houses.
Professor:
Sonia Dueñas Mohedas, pre-doctoral scholarship holder PIPF in the department of Communication at the Carlos III University of Madrid and member of the research project TECMERIN (Television-Cinema: Memory, Representation and Industry). She held a grant from the Korea Foundation Field Research at the Korea National University of Arts in 2021. Her thesis focuses on Planet Hallyuwood, the South Korean film industry in the globalization era, a task that she also combines with the research project «Cartographies of Film Mobility in the Hispanic Atlantic» (CSO2017-85290-P) and teaching. She is a founding member of the Association for the difussion of Korean studies and culture in Spain (ADECCE).
