Korean Cinema 

Korea's political history leaves it with a lack of cultural identity within its Cinema. Whilst under Japanese control from 1886 to 1945, japan heavily censored Korean cinema. Only Pro-Japanese films could be shown in theatres, as the theatres where owned by japan. This meant that what little Cinema industry Korea had to call their own, relied solely on imports. With Japan Surrendering in 1945, the censorship that japan enforced was lifted, and Korea enjoyed a bloom in the film industry. Their liberation was the main focus of their films. This was short lived however, as during the Korean war, production of films in Korea grinded to anything but a halt, with only 5/6 films being produced each year between 1950 and 1953. After the war, the rise of a new presidency made the industry bloom once more, and Korea had begun to give its self a cultural identity in cinema. Once again this freedom was short lived, as when a new presidency came into power in 1962, government control over cinema began to heighten. And it began to place strict censorships on the industry. Despite this, the industry now had a foothold. Devoted cinema goers kept the industry alive.

In 1970 the clutch of the government tightened even more, this year it reached it maximum influence over Korean cinema and nearly destroyed everything film makers had worked on over the past 15 years. 

Despite its ups and down Korean cinema struggled through the censorships and propaganda, even the rise of the television and made a revival between 1980 and 1996. censorship loosened on the industry and more adventurous films were being made as a result.

In 1988, president Roh Tae-woo gradually began to eradicate censorship of cinema, and film makers began to embrace this and reopen the creative identity they had made for themselves.

Once again however, the industry dipped. This was due to the opening of imports in South Korea, mainly that of U.S films. Like most film industries, South Korea's was dwarfed by Hollywood.

 From 2000's Domestic South Korean films began to surpass Hollywood's blockbusters in the Korean Box office. 

I will now move on to the 2006 release that was Oldboy. Oldboy is a massively successful South Korean film and has gained a large fan base and the title of a modern masterpiece of cinema. This is a vengeance film about an imprisoned man, forced to see himself being framed for his wife’s murder and believe his daughter to hate him. He is imprisoned for 15 year, and effectively 'Censored' he can only eat certain food, watch certain T.V and is limited to one room. Once he is freed he goes on a vengeance spree and hunt for identity. The film's antagonist reveals that he hypnotises the protagonist into falling in love with his own daughter, because his rumours drove the antagonist's sister and lover to suicide. This film relies heavily on the connotations of an uncensored Korea, where brutal violence, rape, incest, sex and eating live animal's can be shown. As well as a hatred for the past, both for the antagonist throughout the film, and the protagonist's imprisonment.
Oldboy's influence can be seen reaching outwards to the west in multiple ways, the art direction of the film is incredible and subtle hints are left throughout, only to be sen in a second or third sitting. noticeably decorative scissors are seen on the office desk of the antagonist early in the film, the same scissors used in the climax later on. and the antagonist constantly references his and the protagonists history throughout the film. 
Oldboy also shows a very unconventional hero arc, our main protagonist, Oh Dae-Su, starts of as an obnoxious intoxicated buffoon with pent up anger issues, his time spent imprisoned shows him attempt suicide multiple times showing him the be helpless and vulnerable. this is not often how western culture would portray their main protagonist right off the bat. Oh Dae-Su attempts to take matters into his own hands and becomes empowered doing so, he attempts a slow but sure escape, while training to become physically fit for when he leaves. just as we see him about to escape, his effort is ripped away from him and he is released of the antagonists own will, setting up the idea that Oh Dae-Su will never be in control. this is a theme throughout and could be subconsciously linked to the history of Korean cinema, at least in correlation. after being released we see Oh Dae-Su as a calm, calculated hero who fights with efficiency yet often gets hit back, we see him fight in a strange coordinated yet sloppy intensity where control of the fight seems to sway in his favor purely from focus and drive. this is where we see Dae-Su at his peak in his hero arc, though we keep being given dialogue and hints from the antagonist that this 'monster' Oh Dae-Su is the real him, and the life he had before will never be attainable. this is pure uncensored, unadulterated Oh Dae-Su and his visceral and intense characteristics. after following the clues and piecing everything together Oh Dae-Su confronts our Antagonist, the mild mannered, polite, rich and smug Lee Woo-Jin. in the climax Dae-Su lays out all the information he has collected and comes to a conclusion about Woo-Jin, his captor. Woo-jin reveals Dae-Su is wrong and reveals the horrific truth to him. we see a sudden shift in Oh Dae-Su's behaviour as he becomes distraught and upset, flickering between intense anger and wrath to sorrow and begging for forgivness, even becoming subservient to Woo-Jin and cutting out his own tongue. Woo jin forgives Dae-Su through actions not words, and hands Dae-Su a device to Woo-Jin's pacemaker that will allow Dae-Su to kill him, though once more this is a trick and Dae-Su is stripped of all power when attempting to use the device, as Woo-Jin commits suicide instead.

the Main theme of OldBoy is Truth, vengeance may be the catalyst and means, but truth is the underlaying current. Oh Dae-Su is a direct contrast to Lee Woo-Jin, Woo-Jin is ultimately wealthy, whereas Dae-Su is clearly a working man, even his name mean "Getting through one day at a time" and Woo-Jin is the keeper of the truth, and Dae-Su being the Seeker. After finding the Truth, Dae-Su attempts hypnosis to forget, and after keeping the truth, Woo-Jin commits suicide. confining the tragic tale of Oh Dae-Su to the film we see in Korean Cinemas.