Censorship and the Unfinished Past: Political Satire in Contemporary South Korean Cinema

Abstract

Much has already been written about the precipitous rise of South Korean cinema in the post-democratization era.¹ Faced with near extinction in 1992, the film industry overcame its financial setbacks and increasing competition from Hollywood to not only reclaim its home market, but also expand its regional and global reach within a decade. This “rise from the ashes” narrative has often been repeated in support of South Korea’s shift toward liberal democratic governance since 1988 and the ensuing increase in freedom in cultural production, and to illustrate the success of South Korea’s economic globalization campaign.² This broad-brush abstraction, however, elides several dimensions of the popular struggle that contributed to the political change, and assumes the government’s retreat from direct control is complete and stable. This fails to acknowledge the ongoing pressures from the state that continue to undercut a key facet of South Korea’s modernity—artistic freedom— despite the nation’s transition from military rule to civil society.