Among the Korean films on show in Berlin this year were a pair of classics which received special screenings in the Forum section. YU Hyun-mok’s An Aimless Bullet (1961), often cited as the best Korean film of all time, and LEE Doo-yong’s The Last Witness (1980) were recently both restored by the Korean Film Archive (KOFA). KOFA shared some insights into their process, plans and hopes for Korean classic cinema around the world.

The reception for both An Aimless Bullet and The Last Witness was quite positive. Both films were shown twice as special screenings in the Forum 2017 during the 67th Berlin International Film Festival. It was the international premiere of An Aimless Bullet and the European premiere of The Last Witness, and the theaters were packed with people who had a passion for Korean classic films, Korean history and the film restoration process. Audiences were impressed with An Aimless Bullet for its striking cinematography and bleak portrayal of postwar society. Many found The Last Witness to be a gripping murder mystery that penetrated into Korea’s dark historical past. What made it even more special was that director LEE attended the Q&A section after the first screening of The Last Witness, and shared his ideas and experiences about the circumstance of Korean society of the 1980s, the censorship and rediscovery of the film, and how the narrative structure and character personalities were conceived.

The time required to remaster a film varies greatly based on the physical condition of the film materials and the technical issues that arise during the restoration process. For detailed restoration work that includes, but is not limited to, the removal of dust and scratches from the image, it can take anywhere from a month to even a year. As an example, it took two years to restore An Aimless Bullet because it required removing burnt-in English subtitles from the entire film using visual effects, and six months to restore The Last Witness. At the Paju Conservation Center of the Korean Film Archive, which was newly established in 2016, there are currently 2 film technicians and 5 digitization specialists, and all have worked incredibly hard on the restorations. 

Many Korean films were victims of censorship. An Aimless Bullet was pulled from theaters soon after its release for political reasons. The March Of Fools (1975, HA Gil-jong) had about 30 minutes of footage cut from its original version due to five consecutive censorship reviews, along with the banning of sales for two songs featured on the soundtrack. Most infamously, director LEE Man-hee was arrested for violation of the anti-communist law for his film, The Seven Female POW's (1965), after which the film underwent significant reshoots and reedits for release, but neither of the original nor the release version exists today. On the other hand, another film of his called A Day Off (1968) was forbidden by government authorities to be released at all, but was able to be introduced to the world by the Korean Film Archive in 2005.

LEE Doo-yong was one of the pioneers of Korean cinema whose works such as Spinning The Tales Of Cruelty Towards Women (1984) and Mulberry (1986) were already introduced to overseas film festivals such as the Cannes Film Festival, the Chicago International Film Festival and the Asia Pacific Film Festival in the 1980s. His films are certainly worthy of more attention, especially The Last Witness. This is not only because it has such a unique and fresh perspective among pre-1980s films that deal with the Korean War and national division, but because it embodies many characteristics of a road movie, a genre that is rarely tackled in Korean cinema. As representative Korean filmmakers, PARK Chan-wook and RYOO Seung-wan, express their deep affection and respect for this film, we feel that The Last Witness could resonate with audiences and critics overseas with its energetic and stylish imagery, as well as its engrossing storyline. 

The restored version of The Last Witness will be released by the Korean Film Archive in June of 2017.

Although some popular Korean films and directors captivate audiences abroad, Korean classic cinema is still uncharted territory and needs further domestic and international research in order to compare the preference of viewers. However, looking over the diverse reviews of Korean classics written by foreign audiences, it becomes apparent that films with artistic creativity and/or characteristics of genre cinema tend to be more accessible for foreign viewers. 

The Korean Film Archive has several video channels for online viewers through platforms such as Youtube (https://www.youtube.com/user/KoreanFilm), NaverTV and KMDb VOD. The Youtube channel is important in that the KOFA can introduce Korean films not only domestically but also internationally. When the service was launched, the channel showcased works from famous filmmakers such as IM Kwon-taek, SHIN Sang-ok, and YU Hyun-mok, but currently provides a more diverse array of films that are relatively less well-known. The Last Witness will be uploaded in 2018, following its Blu-ray release in 2017.

The Korean Film Archive is currently preparing a 4K resolution digital restoration of Seong Chun-Hyang (1961, SHIN Sang-ok). The story of Choon-hyang is an orally transmitted folk tale widely known in Korea, and was adapted for the screen numerous times over the years. Many of these adaptations marked important technical achievements in the Korean film industry, such as the first talkie in 1935, the first color cinemascope film in 1961, and the first 70mm film in 1971. Seong Chun-Hyang received unprecedented box-office success at the time and became the representative film of Shin film, one of the leading production companies of the 1960s. We hope cinephiles around the world will look forward to this new restoration.