korean war films in southern cal

[Kyung Hyun Kim]

Please circulate the following

A landmark Korean film series, "Korean War: the Last 50 Years," will be
held at UCI Film and Video Center, UCLA Film and Television Archive, and
Korean Cultural Center--Los Angeles from May 30 through June 10, 2000. The
film series will showcase seven feature films from Korea, all of them--with
the exception of one--dealing with the Korean War. Commemorating the 50th
year of the Korean War's outbreak and expecting the first-ever presidential
summit between North Korea and South Korea planned in June, the series will
provide a chance not only to remember the tragic past but also to
historicize the past from the present perspective.

On May 30th (7:30pm) the series will kick-off at UCLA James Bridge Theater
with "The Marines who Never Returned" (1963) and "Shiri" (1999), two
blockbuster films that are remarkably similar despite the 25 years that
separate them.

On June 3th (7:30pm) at UCLA James Bridge Theater, Park Kwang-su who has
emerged as one of the most prominent directors in the recent years will
present two films, "The Uprising" (1999) (his latest film on Cheju Island 
rebellion of 1901) and "To the Starry Island" (1994). Director Park
Kwang-su will host the Q&A session following the screening of "The Uprising".

On June 4th the series will move to UC Irvine (Humanities Instructional 
Building, room 100) where "The Man with Three Coffins" (1987) (4:00pm), as 
well as repeat screening of "To the Starry Island" (7:00pm) are featured.
"The Man With Three Coffins" is a classic, a film that beautifully
structures together Shamanism and Buddhism, against the harsh reality of
the national division.

On June 6th "Korean War: the Last 50 Years" will return to UCLA James
Bridge Theater (7:30pm). "The Stray Bullet" (1960) and "Spring in My
Hometown" (1998) will be the double feature bill The two films recall the
immediate years after the war, dramatizing the post-war anxieties and
pessimism prevalent at the time.

All films will be screened in 35mm format, with English subtitles.

There are two lectures and worshops also presented during the film series.
Bruce Cumings, professor of history at University of Chicago, and an expert
of Korean will lecture on "Revising the Korean War" on Friday, June 2 at
both UCLA and UCI.  He will speak at HIB 135, UCI at noon, and then at 243
Royce Hall, UCLA at 4pm.

Director Park Kwang-su will discuss his films and the New Korea Cinema on
June 3rd at 11377 Bunche Hall, UCLA, 3-5pm.

To receive a program or a free poster, email eunsuncho at hotmail.com 

For ticketing information and parking at UCLA, please call 
310-206-FILM or go to www.cinema.ucla.edu
For information for UCI screenings, please call 949-824-7418 or go to
www.humanities.uci.edu/fvc

The program is curated by Kyung Hyun Kim at University of California,
Irvine, kyunghk at uci.edu