ReFocus: The films of Kim Ki-young

Abstract

The first comprehensive scholarly volume on Kim Ki-young and his films in English • Offers an innovative critical analysis of Kim Ki-young's films from a range of fresh and nuanced perspectives • Introduces a significant South Korean film auteur within the history of global cinema whose work has been previously overlooked • Increases the understanding of modern South Korean history and culture through an analysis of the trajectory of Kim Ki-young's work. World-renowned South Korean directors, including Park Chan-wook and Bong Joon Ho, cite Kim Ki-young as being the greatest Korean influence on their work. During his thirty year career, Kim Ki-young produced thirty-three films and became revered by critics within the national and international community as one of the few South Korean 'auteurs'. As the first comprehensive scholarly volume on Kim Ki-young in English, ReFocus: The Films of Kim Ki-young covers his entire career and history of cinematic work, highlighting the thematic and stylistic singularity of Kim's oeuvre, which was produced relative to the specific historical and cultural conditions of post-war South Korea. It offers an innovative departure point from which to explore South Korean film relative to the wider history of world cinema, in addition to situating Kim's work within the broader fields of Korean modern history, transnational cinema and cultural studies.