Cross-currents of Change and Continuity: Korean National Literature and Korean National Cinema

The decade of the 1960s in Korea is normally regarded as a transitional period, but this transition has been consistently viewed in either economic or political terms. In this paper I examine the 1960s and the 1970s as a period of cultural transition―from a neo-Confucian emphasis on "high" art to a broader, more inclusive acceptance of "popular" forms of cultural expression. Although these two realms of cultural production are often viewed as fundamentally antithetical, I argue that there is actually significant continuity in terms of both artistic expression and cultural engagement. In particular, I look at the trajectories of Korean national literature and cinema and their areas of confluence. I examine the career of Kim $S{\breve{u}ng-ok$, who in the 1960s was the preeminent literary voice of a new generation and who in the 1970s was the screenwriter for some of the most popular films of that era, and I show how Kim's career changes track parallel changes in both literature and cinema. Artistically, Kim continued his literary expressions of a new sensibility in his screenplays, bringing to cinema a new infusion of seriousness and respectability. Culturally, Kim continued his explorations of the ways in which rapid changes in Korean politics and the booming economy led to miscommunication and chaos in society. By consistently exploring processes of national identity formation and re-formation, Kim's 1960s literature can be seen as crucial instances of Korean national literature (minjok munhak). In the same manner, Kim's 1970s screenplays can be seen as foundational moments in a Korean national cinema.