Militarization of Culture during Park Chung-hee’s Rule (1961-1979): Focus on South Korean War Movies

The study aims to identify the characteristics of South Korean war films as a component of the militarization of culture during Park Chung-hee’s rule (1961-1979). The surge in the popularity of war cinema in the 1960s stemmed from state film policies aimed at fostering the production and consumption of such films, along with heightened interest from both audiences and film companies. However, as the 1960s progressed, state intervention in the film industry increasingly influenced the production dynamics of war films, precipitating a decline in their quality and commercial success at the box office. By the 1970s, war cinema, having lost its appeal, sustained itself solely through government backing. One of the primary features of war cinema was its methods of depicting “us” and “them”. From the state’s standpoint, the ideologically sound portrayal of the enemy in war cinema entailed a dehumanized depiction of the communists, primarily North Korean soldiers, illustrating their brutality and aggression towards South Korean citizens. Such state’s requirement, however, was paradoxical: on the one hand, the shared Korean identity theoretically allowed for the humanization of North Korean soldiers, on the other hand, their portrayal as strong adversaries committing cruel acts risked glorifying their militarized masculinity, a scenario the state sought to avoid. To reconcile this contradiction, film companies employed a strategy of their de-characterization, stripping them of individual traits and relegating to secondary roles on the periphery of the film narrative. In contrast, South Korean soldiers were portrayed as heroic figures, characterized by their individuality and robust masculinity.