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There was a time when the landscape of Korean documentary film was dominated by works detailing domestic social and political woes. All that changed in early 2009 with the release of Old Partner, a film about an old farmer and his ailing ox which defied all expectations to go well and far beyond any previous mark set by local documentaries. It eventually topped 2.95 million admissions, finishing seventh in the local rankings that year, just behind BONG Joon-ho’s Mother. Since then, Korean documentaries have reflected a diverse array of tastes and themes. And while works examining social and political realities are still de rigueur, the marketplace has welcomed a far broader selection of non-fiction works.

One of the most popular trends in the field these days is the music documentary. The indie rock subculture scene has been the focus of a few recent documentaries including BAEK Seung-hwa’s Turn It Up To 11 (2010), its sequel from 2012 Turn It Up To 11: Wild Days and JUNG Yong-taek’ 51+, which screened in competition at the Jeonju International Film Festival (JIFF) this year. Dialing back the musical clock, there are also a number of films focusing on classical music. Korea has a growing reputation for producing highly skilled musicians and last year the Belgian documentarians Thierry Loreau and Pierre Barre made a film on the subject called The Korean Musical Mystery. Recent local films have also cast an eye on the phenomenon, such as Hello?! Orchestra, which premiered at this year’s Busan International Film Festival (BIFF). Then of course there are K-pop documentaries.

 

Many are concert films for fans, such as I AM: SMTOWN Live World Tour in Madison Square Garden, but there have also been works looking behind the veneer of the industry, revealing the hardships and anxieties underneath, such as 9 Muses of Star Empire. Others may not fall into any of the above categories, such as Black Gospel, which is currently on a successful limited run in Korea, having attracted over 35,000 as of November 25th, after just 12 days in theaters. The film follows a group of singers to New York as they seek to learn from gospel singers in Harlem.

 

Staying with the arts, among other areas that documentaries have recently explored are architecture and fashion. JEON Jae-eun’s Talking Architect was very well received following its premiere at BIFF in 2011 and its sequel, Talking Architect: City Hall, is currently making the rounds. It premiered at the Jeonju Film Festival this spring.

 

One of the most notable documentaries this year is a portrait of fashion designer Nora NOH of the same name, which was directed by KIM Sung-hee and produced by KIM Il-ran, who was one of the directors of last year’s hit documentary Two Doors, which attracted over 70,000 viewers. The film, which features reconstructions starring SEO Young-joo (Bedevilled 2010), was invited to screen at this year’s International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam (IDFA) in the First Appearance Competition section. Two years ago, the popular Korean doc Planet of Snail, by YI Seung-jun, won the top prize at IDFA before securing theatrical releases in foreign markets such as the UK, which is a rare occurrence for a Korean documentary. Another recent doc to focus from the fashion scene in Korea was Anxiety, last year’s Mecenat Award winner at BIFF.

 

IDFA provides a pitching event for prospective documentaries, which five Korean works participated in this year. Each was selected during a documentary project pitching workshop which was held in Seoul in October and organized by the Korea Radio Promotion Association (RAPA) and Broadcasting Content Promotion Foundation (BCPF). Each of these projects will be made into 52-minute TV and 90-minute feature versions. Among them, With or Without You was invited to the IDFA’s Central Pitch Program. The film previously won the JPP Documentary Pitching Program at this year’s JIFF.

 

Another local pitching event will be held on the 6th and 7th of December this year. The well-funded Documentary Pitching Forum, which will be staged by the Incheon Film Commission and SJM Culture Foundation among others, will feature prospective documentaries including a piece on the legendary director IM Kwon-taek and The Children in Blue, one the works which was sent to the IDFA’s pitching sessions.

 

These days there seems to be a new breed of filmmakers applying techniques to their works that are blurring the lines between fiction filmmaking and standard documentary styles. In keeping with Korean cinema’s proclivity for mixing genre codes in fiction films the habit has begun to transfer to the non-fiction realm.

 

PARK Chan-kyong, a noted visual artist who has been making a name for himself in the film world by directing shorts such as Night Fishing (2011) and Day Trip (2012) with his brother PARK Chan-wook, applied many dynamic techniques to his docudrama Manshin: Ten Thousand Spirits, a film about the life of Korea’s ‘national shaman’ KIM Geum-hwa. Though the film features much of the standard archival and talking heads footage we expect from a documentary, it is also filled with lengthy reconstructions starring MOON So-ri, KIM Sae-ron and RYOU Hyoun-kyoun as the shaman at different stages of her life. These are produced with the level of skill we expect from top-flight Korean productions. Coupled with an immersive soundtrack that plunges the viewer into the intense and hypnotic experience of shaman rituals, the film has demonstrated a new paradigm for Korean documentaries. Manshin premiered as the opening film of last month’s DMZ Docs International Film Festival.

 

In the same vein, Non-Fiction Diary, the debut film of JUNG Yoon-seok, is a film that borrowed a leaf from the page of thrillers with regards to its pacing and mood. The 1990s were a confusing time when the country was just released from the grip of authoritarian regimes. By creating a dark snapshot of some of the most infamous events from the period, JUNG’s film could easily have been difficult to watch. However, through his employment of fiction filmmaking techniques, the documentary takes on a palpable air which deftly draws in the viewer. Jurors at the recent Busan International Film Festival were convinced, as they handed the film the Mecenat Award for Best Documentary.

Political works are still an important part of the documentary scene in Korea. Among these works, perhaps none is as incendiary as Project Cheonan Ship, which quietly premiered earlier this year at the Jeonju Film Festival before becoming the subject of national controversy. The film takes a look at the infamous sinking of the Cheonan ship in 2010 and the ensuing investigation. It pokes holes in the government’s assessment of the incident, which they attributed to a North Korean torpedo. Naval officers and family members subsequently sought to ban film yet this proved unsuccessful. Following its launch in theaters in September, exhibitor Megabox pulled it from its chain, citing objections raised by certain organizations. The move angered many in the filmmaking community.

 

If the tepid global interest in Korean documentaries has something to do with a general lack of knowledge about the country, it seems that things are changing as various facets of Korean culture are becoming known overseas. Local incentives promising funding for projects and helping to send them to overseas events are also making a difference. If filmmakers can capitalize on these trends while at the same time bolstering their work with the use of novel and dynamic filmmaking approaches, then perhaps film fans from all over the world will lend them an ear.