ASIAN 4477 - Beauty and Violence in Korean Film

(GB) (LA-AS)

Fall. 4 credits.

E. Choi.

Korean film and literature of the modern and contemporary eras are juxtaposed between two identifiable tropes - the beautiful, tranquil Orient and a violent, frenetic hyper-modernity. This arises from a tension between how Koreans want to identify themselves and their modern historical experiences, and from the ways the international community and the “West” sees them - as the exotic “East.” Seeking to understand yet also complicate this dichotomy, the course will explore how the two Koreas have struggled to hone a national identity, and the problems inherent in the process. We will analyze the imagination and construction of national identity and cultural tradition (and its critique) in Korean film and literature, but also strive to understand how Korea has been struggling since the 1990s to overcome the national in the face of overwhelming globalization. No Korean language ability is required; no background knowledge in Korean history or culture is assumed; all films are subtitled in English. (LL)