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Hallyuwood: The Ultimate Guide to Korean Cinema
Ride the Korean wave (Hallyu) of cinema and explore the most exciting and captivating films in the world today.
From smash hits like Parasite to cult favorites Oldboy, The Handmaiden, and Train to Busan, Korean cinema has revolutionized the film industry. Hallyuwood is a comprehensive, cultural dive into Korean cinema from 1900 to the present highlighting more than 100 major films from Golden Age classics to intriguing indies. Asian film expert and writer Bastian Meiresonne explores how Korean cinema found its roots and the cultural, historical, and political forces that have shaped the industry over the last 125 years.
With vibrant film stills and original movies posters throughout, Hallyuwood is a celebration of the past, present, and future of Korean cinema and a gateway to everything you need to know about these unique and thrilling movies.
From smash hits like Parasite to cult favorites Oldboy, The Handmaiden, and Train to Busan, Korean cinema has revolutionized the film industry. Hallyuwood is a comprehensive, cultural dive into Korean cinema from 1900 to the present highlighting more than 100 major films from Golden Age classics to intriguing indies. Asian film expert and writer Bastian Meiresonne explores how Korean cinema found its roots and the cultural, historical, and political forces that have shaped the industry over the last 125 years.
With vibrant film stills and original movies posters throughout, Hallyuwood is a celebration of the past, present, and future of Korean cinema and a gateway to everything you need to know about these unique and thrilling movies.
- GenresNonfictionFilmHistory
352 pages, Hardcover
Published January 14, 2025
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
March 13, 2025
A lavishly illustrated and deeply informative history of Korean cinema. A must read for anyone interested in Asian film making.
March 11, 2026
I picked up this book hoping that I'd have a new read to touch on Korean history and how it relates to the film industry, as well as an overview of Korean film history. I enjoyed seeing how politics combined, and was hoping it would be a good introduction to the topic. The book did a decent enough job with these things. It also gave me some new series to pick up, which I will greatly enjoy.
That being said, I heavily disliked the way it was written. First, it often read as a laundry list of titles, barely explaining *why* these were chosen, what made them good exemplars, etc. It would regularly rattle off names of directors and I found this deeply confusing. Second, and the bigger issue for me, was how it was formatted. The book was originally sectioned by year, which I greatly enjoyed at the start. But especially as time went on, the subtopics would cover multiple years beyond the implied scale of the beginning blurb about what this section would be about. I would've much preferred it be covered by topic instead, which would better allow me to follow the streams and enjoy learning about the individuals involved.
I am not intending to reread this book, nor am I even intending to keep it. That said, I got what I was hoping for more or less out of it, and there were some parts I greatly enjoyed. It was a long drag to get through, but I still finished it.
If you're looking for a book summarizing Korean cinema, this isn't bad. It's just very long and repetitive in some ways, and it'll feel like a list rather than a comprehensive story/explanation for much of the sections. When it doesn't do that, it's an enjoyable read.
That being said, I heavily disliked the way it was written. First, it often read as a laundry list of titles, barely explaining *why* these were chosen, what made them good exemplars, etc. It would regularly rattle off names of directors and I found this deeply confusing. Second, and the bigger issue for me, was how it was formatted. The book was originally sectioned by year, which I greatly enjoyed at the start. But especially as time went on, the subtopics would cover multiple years beyond the implied scale of the beginning blurb about what this section would be about. I would've much preferred it be covered by topic instead, which would better allow me to follow the streams and enjoy learning about the individuals involved.
I am not intending to reread this book, nor am I even intending to keep it. That said, I got what I was hoping for more or less out of it, and there were some parts I greatly enjoyed. It was a long drag to get through, but I still finished it.
If you're looking for a book summarizing Korean cinema, this isn't bad. It's just very long and repetitive in some ways, and it'll feel like a list rather than a comprehensive story/explanation for much of the sections. When it doesn't do that, it's an enjoyable read.
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April 28, 2025This book is very well-designed and thorough, but I have to admit it's not what I thought it was going to be when I checked it out lol.
I took "ultimate guide to Korean cinema" to mean like, a viewer's guide, essential movies and why you should see them, etc. But this book is not a "guide" exactly, telling you what to go watch... instead, the book is actually the main feature. It's a chronological HISTORY of Korean cinema rather than a guide, explaining in great detail the historical and cultural context of the birth and life of Korean film. Of course tons of films are mentioned, but there's no recommendations for what to watch, no viewers advisory guides, etc
So if you want a book on the HISTORY of Korean cinema, you should check this out. If you're looking for a GUIDE to Korean cinema I would say..... maybe not lol
I took "ultimate guide to Korean cinema" to mean like, a viewer's guide, essential movies and why you should see them, etc. But this book is not a "guide" exactly, telling you what to go watch... instead, the book is actually the main feature. It's a chronological HISTORY of Korean cinema rather than a guide, explaining in great detail the historical and cultural context of the birth and life of Korean film. Of course tons of films are mentioned, but there's no recommendations for what to watch, no viewers advisory guides, etc
So if you want a book on the HISTORY of Korean cinema, you should check this out. If you're looking for a GUIDE to Korean cinema I would say..... maybe not lol
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews