The Late and Post-Dictatorship Cinephilia Boom and Art Houses in South Korea

The Late and Post-Dictatorship Cinephilia Boom and Art Houses in South Korea examines the growth of art film exhibition, consumption, and cinephilia during 1985-1997. This moment of heightened interest in art film altered how many Koreans conceptualised cinema and helped pave the way for the critical success of South Korean film. In this historical study, Jackson analyses the cultural, political, social, and economic developments of the post-1985 period that generated an increased interest in European art film. He considers the interactions of art house exhibitors with cinephile audiences, the media and the state-level administrators responsible for governing the industry. The aim of young cinephiles was nothing less than a bottom-up cultural transformation of a society emerging from three decades of dictatorship. Based on the previously unheard voices of audiences who participated in the cinephilia, Jackson's work is a history of Korean cinema and an investigation of the impact of this cultural renewal period on the industry. Andrew David Jackson is an Associate Professor, Convenor of Korean Studies and Director of the Monash University Korean Studies Research Hub at Monash University, Melbourne.