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Korean Cinematographer in Colonial Time Portrayed

May 12, 2006
  • Writer by Yi Ch'ang-ho (KOFIC)
  • View3662
The Japanese documentary The Man with Two Names tells the story of the Korean cinematographer KIM Hak-seong. He started working under the name Kanai Seichi for Japanese producers during the Japanese occupation, and ended up working on films dealing with Korean identity after World War II. Among the Korean films he worked on as a cinematographer is the critically acclaimed Aimless Bullet (1960). Tanaka Fumihito's documentary doesn't take a political stance about KIM being pro-Japanese or not, but portrays the struggle of a Korean during the colonial era, facing the difficult choice between surviving and working in a Japanese controlled industry, or being an uncompromised Korean citizen. Fumihito experienced a great difference in the reception of the documentary in Japan and Korea. For the younger Japanese generations, Koreans are represented by popular film stars and singers, and they are unfamiliar with the Japanese colonial rule of Korea (1910-1945). In Korea that period is not forgotten and therefore the documentary was not out-of-context while being screened in Korea. Fumihito worked on the documentary for ten years. In the documentary, Koreans and Japanese who worked with KIM are interviewed. The Korean premiere of the documentary took place at the 2006 Jeonju International Film Festival. Yi Ch'ang-ho (KOFIC)
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