KOFA's Discovery of 16 Movies Marks a Milestone in Preserving Korea's "First Renaissance" Cinema

Courtesy of KOFA

The Korean Film Archive (KOFA) announced on Friday the successful recovery of 16 Korean movies from the 1960s and 70s, previously inaccessible due to lost sound and deleted scenes. These films are particularly significant as they belong to the period known as the Korean film industry's "first renaissance." 

▲ Courtesy of KOFAFilm critic Kim Hong-won highlighted the importance of reclaiming films from this era, characterized by the active production of renowned filmmakers like Kim Ki-young and Shin Sang-ok. The 1960s, in particular, marked a golden age for the Korean film industry, with a surge in diverse genres and storytelling following government funding initiatives that began with director Lee Gyu-hwan's "Chun-hyang Story" in 1955.

KOFA's recovery efforts involved the identification of movies stored on 16 mm film, located in the data center of public broadcaster KBS. A deal was struck between KOFA and KBS in 2022, aiming to digitally recover 88 movies by 2027. KBS, established in 1961, and KTV, another state-run broadcaster founded in 1948, own some of the early Korean films.

KOFA Director Kim Hong-joon emphasized the duty of the Korean Film Archive to unearth and preserve cultural heritage in the form of decades-old movies produced on film. The archive plans to unveil five of the 16 recovered movies through digitalization and organize a special exhibition in June for public viewing.

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