Description
Book SynopsisIn Cine-Mobility, Han Sang Kim argues that the force of propaganda films in Korea were derived primarily from the new mobility afforded by transportation. Kim explores the association between cinematic media and transportation mobility, and its connection with the new culture of mobility, including changes in gender dynamics, that accompanied it.
Trade ReviewPerhaps
the best academic book produced on the subject of Korean literature, film, and culture over the past twenty years…Han Sang Kim has achieved a feat in the English language that no one outside Korea has yet to match—that of telling a fascinating story about the intimate relationship between Korean socioeconomic phenomena (transportation) and media (screen) throughout the twentieth century. -- Kyung Hyun Kim * Seoul Journal of Korean Studies *
Its breath of research is impressive—from Korean, American, and Japanese original sources, the subject of the visual mobility of Korea during the past century is groundbreaking and innovative, and the overall historical narrative is brilliant and unique. I can’t think of another book that takes this approach in understanding Korea during the twentieth century. I read it from the beginning to end in about two or three sittings, and each and every chapter read as if there were more truth to be told about the author’s unorthodox approach at examining the history of Korean development. -- Kyung Hyun Kim, author of
Hegemonic Mimicry: Korean Popular Culture of the Twenty-First CenturyHan Sang Kim’s wonderful new book offers a vivid exploration of South Korea’s twentieth-century experience of modernity, focusing on technologies and representations of mobility within a political-economic framework. Admirably broad in scope, it covers trains, automobiles, and planes as they appear in feature films, documentaries, and TV shows. Kim fluidly combines a transnational perspective with deep dives into national history, and his exceptional knowledge of Korean visual culture enables him to trace continuities and ruptures across the colonial divide. Filled with nuanced textual interpretations, this book expands our understanding of Korean modernity immeasurably. A major contribution to the field of Korean studies. -- Christina Klein, author of
Cold War Cosmopolitanism: Period Style in 1950s Korea Cinema
