• 1 This study is based on a presentation at the 30th AKSE (Association for Korean Studies in Europe) C (...)
• 2 Sancho 2015: Isabelle Sancho, “Le confucianisme en Corée : une introduction.” Prepublication availa (...)
• 3 Cf. Eunsook Koo, “Jeonjaeng gwa yeoseong: jedohwa doen byeongyeok gwa gunsa juui munhwa (Women and (...)
• 4 Since the 1930s, when Korea was fully mobilized for the war waged by Japan, and especially after th (...)
• 5 Ibid., p. 20.

1In the World Economic Forum’s Global Gender Gap Report 2022, South Korea received a Gender Gap Index score of 0.69, ranking 99th out of 146 countries surveyed. The country’s cultural and historical influences, such as Confucianism, which is “often associated with male dominance and Korean patriarchy,” 2along with the militarized culture intensified after the Korean War (1950–1953), 3have shaped the societal norms. In the 1960s, South Korea’s focus on economic growth led to the reconstruction of a patriarchal society, deviating from its earlier matrifocal characteristics. 4As a result, South Korean society underwent a transformation, adopting a nuclear family system in which men took on economic and protective roles, while women took on responsibilities as wives, mothers, and daughters-in-law, creating a nurturing and cosy family environment. 5This societal structure has had a significant impact on gender roles and inequalities in South Korea.

• 6 Choi 2020: Inyi Choi, “1990 nyeondae ihu han-guk yeoseong nodong ui hyeonhwang gwa seong pyeongdeun (...)

2Nevertheless, the 1990s saw a significant increase in women’s participation in economic activities within South Korean society. As Choi (2020) notes, this change was due to “a combination of factors such as the desire for personal achievement fuelled by higher levels of education, as well as increased employment opportunities resulting from the development of the service industry.” 6During this socio-economic shift, the South Korean film industry underwent fundamental changes, including an increase in the number of film producers due to the revision of film laws, a change in the economic structure with the emergence of conglomerates (chaebol) as new investors, and the need to improve the competitiveness of domestic films due to the direct distribution of foreign films. In addition, the revaluation of cinema by the emerging elite and the interest of foreign cinephiles in South Korean cinema, as well as the formalization of the Korean New Wave at the first Busan Film Festival in 1996, contributed to the cultural legitimization of South Korean cinema. These changes required a new workforce in the film industry, which led to an increased visibility of women in the industry during the 1990s.

• 7 Son 2021: Huijeong Son, Dangsini geurin ujureul boatda (I Saw the Universe You Drew), Seoul, Maeum (...)
• 8 In the World Economic Forum’s Global Gender Gap Report 2022, South Korea ranked 115th for Economic (...)
• 9 Kim 2019: Sook-hyun Kim, “Yeoseong yeonghwa gamdok ui yeokal suhaeng gwajeonggwa silcheonui gujo (T (...)
• 10 Kim 2023: Minju Kim, qualitative interviews conducted on 4 March 2023, Vesoul, France. Originally i (...)

3However, this was limited to certain positions, such as marketing or planning. It was only in the late 2000s that we saw the emergence of women filmmakers in large numbers: in 2007, seven new female directors made their first feature films, and in 2009, thirteen films made by women were released. As a result, most of the previous studies of South Korean women filmmakers since the 1980s have focused on the 2000s and beyond (Kim Suna 2013, 2018; Kim Sookhyun 2018, 2019). Nowadays, the phrase “new wave of women’s films”7 appears among South Korean film critics. Nevertheless, there is a celluloid ceiling in South Korea8, as in other film industries around the world. Kim Sook-hyun (2019) underlines the limit of genres allowed to female directors. Only yeoja yeonghwa (female films), i.e. genres that are considered typically feminine, as well as melodramas and romances or low-budget films, are given to female directors, and therefore do not attract enough attention to be recognized.9 Kim Minju, a young director who recently debuted with her first feature film, A Letter from Kyoto (2022), which won an award at the Vesoul International Film Festival of Asian Cinemas in March 2023, has also acknowledged the presence of the celluloid ceiling. According to her, “The South Korean independent film scene is now dominated by women, and women have also made significant strides in the film industry, except in decision-making positions.” 10

• 13 During her teenage years, she bought Japanese movie magazines such as Screen (ス ク リ ー ン) and Roadsh (...)

7On the other hand, in terms of film experience, all three had been regular filmgoers since childhood. In several interviews, Yim Soon-rye, Lee Jeong-hyang and Byun Young-Joo described their experiences as teenagers watching films alone in downtown cinemas or in second-run theatres in their neighbourhoods. Given that access to diverse films was almost impossible in South Korea in the 1970s, it is easy to predict that their teenage movie experiences were not very different. At that time, the majority of foreign movies available in South Korea were Hong Kong action films and Hollywood productions. In addition, only a few books about cinema were written in Korean. South Korean cinephiles had to rummage through magazines or foreign film books in order to study cinema, as Lee Jeong-hyang did.13 However, Byun Young-Joo’s case is slightly different. Her father loved cinema and he used to record many family moments with an 8 mm camera. She saw these scenes during her childhood. We can conclude that, for Byun Young-Joo, this helped her to some extent to recognize the existence of the camera in film, and to approach film from a more analytical point of view from an early age.

• 14 The graduation quota system was introduced in 1981 by Chun Doo-hwan’s National Security Emergency C (...)
• 15 Shin 2014: Kang-ho Shin (professor of Film Studies at Daejin University and former president of the (...)
• 16 Lee 2014: Eun Lee (filmmaker and movie producer), qualitative interviews on 25 October 2014, Seoul, (...)

8The three women spent their teenage years in the 1970s and went to university in the 1980s. They have bachelor’s degrees from universities in Seoul. In 1981, the graduation quota system14 was introduced, which led to a sudden increase in the proportion of university students in the population. As a result, university students have gradually lost some of their elite status. Nevertheless, as the ranking of universities in South Korea is still solid, the fact that they graduated from a university in Seoul still proves that they have more than a certain amount of academic capital. Meanwhile, it should be noted that none of the three directors had a bachelor’s degree in film studies in South Korea. This was due to the poor reputation of film departments in South Korean universities at the time. Even for those who graduated with a BA in Film Studies and are still working in the film industry, until the 1980s, applying to the University Film Department was “a subject they could not even talk about for fear of being blamed at home.” 15Moreover, high school students at that time could only imagine applying to this department “if their grades were not at a university level ‘in Seoul’.” 16Therefore, neither Byun Young-Joo, who never dreamed of becoming a director until she was a teenager, nor Yim Soon-rye and Lee Jeong-hyang, were interested in studying cinema at university.

• 18 Anti-American nationalism, along with minjung, was the ideological axis of South Korea’s democratiz (...)
• 19 Seol 2016: Hyesim Seol, “Hanguk simune natanan peurangseu ui imiji 1920~1999 (Images of France in S (...)

9These three women began their film studies after completing their undergraduate degrees. Yim Soon-rye enrolled for a master’s degree in Film Studies at Hanyang University in 1985, but dropped out midway through. From 1988 to 1992, she obtained her bachelor’s and master’s degree in Film Studies at the University of Paris VIII. In the 1980s, France was one of the favorite countries for young South Korean cinephiles. After the Gwangju uprising in 1980, within the radicalized democratization movement, the United States was increasingly seen as a symbol of an imperialist state supporting the South Korean military regime, 18while France was still seen as a country of the arts and human rights.19 In addition, the French Cultural Center (FCC) in Seoul, which opened in the late 1960s, was considered a sacred place for South Korean cinephiles.

• 20 Dong and Yun 2006: Jeongmin Dong and Wanjun Yun, “Gwangbok ihu haeoe baksa samman myeong eodiseo tt (...)
• 21 Kim 1990: Byeongjae Kim, “90nyŏndae yŏnghwa kye ikkŭl yajŏn saryŏnggwan (The film world’s combat co (...)
• 22 Chae 1997: Gyujin Chae, “<Munhwa chido> 56. yuhakp'a yŏnghwa kamdok tŭl (<Cultural Map> 56. Filmmakers Who Studied Abroad),” Jo</Cultural></Munhwa> (...)
• 23 Chungmuro is the name of a street in the Myeong-dong district of Seoul. The history of Korean cinem (...)

10Given the situation of South Koreans, who were unable to travel freely abroad before January 1, 1989, the academic capital acquired by studying abroad at that time can be considered exceptional: only 1,804 South Koreans earned a Ph.D. abroad in the 1970s, 6,640 in the 1980s, and 21,609 in the 1990s.20 In addition, in 1990, there were only three universities in South Korea with a master’s program in Film Studies. It was not until 1992 that the first Doctorate in Film Studies was awarded in the country. As a result, people who studied film abroad were considered to be “equipped with extensive knowledge of film theories and practical experience” 21and “the path of studying abroad bestowed certain advantages, facilitating the entry of filmmakers with international film education into the field.” 22In other words, Yim Soon-rye, holder of a master’s degree in film studies from a French university, could be perceived as having exceptional academic capital. However, Yim Soon-rye could not easily enter Chungmuro23, South Korea’s filmmaking industry.

• 25 South Korean directors who went to France for their film studies in the 1980s include Yim Soon-rye, (...)

11Yim Soon-rye’s experience can be compared to that of Park Kwang-su, who also studied cinema in France in the 1980s. 25Park Kwang-su differs from Yim Soon-rye in that in the mid-1980s, before he went to study in France, he had already made a name for himself through his activities at Yallasyeong, the film club at Seoul National University, and Seoul yeonghwa jipdan (Seoul Film Collective). These two groups of young cinephiles at the time drewed on their network created within the CCF. It is worth noting that Yim Soon-rye was unable to benefit from this network, despite her regular visits to the CCF. We will return to this point in the next chapter. When Park returned from his studies in France, he received offers to work under the direction of Im Kwon-taek and Lee Jang-ho respectively. He chose Lee Jang-ho’s team, and was recognized as a humble young man who joined the existing master-apprentice system despite having studied abroad, and also as a young man who respected Chungmuro’s elders. In this way, he gained an excellent reputation as soon as he entered the South Korean film industry. However, Yim Soon-rye, the first female filmmaker to study cinema abroad, received a cold reception from Chungmuro.

• 26 In 1986, the first film studies textbook written in Korean for the purpose of use in university cou (...)
• 27 Anonyme 1994: Anonyme, “Yeonghwa akademi silseup gyoyuk jigeop ui segye (The World of Practical Edu (...)
• 28 Director Hong Ji-young, a 14th graduate of the Korean Film Academy, has been steadily active since (...)
• 29 Anonyme 2000: Anonyme, “Gajang keodaran inmaek, doje siseutem ui gyebodo (The biggest network, the (...)

12In 1987, Lee Jeong-hyang joined the Korean Film Academy. At a time when higher education in film studies could not play its own role, 26the Academy functioned as a cradle to “cultivate filmmakers with excellent field adaptability through practical training.”27 Since it opened in 1984, many directors have been trained there before making their debut, including Park Jong-Won, Hur Jin-ho, Bong Joon-ho, and Min Gyoo-dong. Lee Jeong-hyang is the first woman to make her directorial debut among Korean Film Academy alumni. After Lee Jeong-hyang, no woman director who had studied at the Academy entered Chungmuro until the end of the 2000s.28 The Korean Film Academy is “a huge flow for Chungmuro and a reliable background for juniors,”29 but it seems that only men have received educational capital recognized by the institute.

• 31 Jangsangot mae is a film production group founded in 1988 by young activist cinephiles to produce a (...)
• 32 Lee Eun (1961 – ). Film director and producer of films in South Korea.

13Byun Young-Joo began studying cinema in 1989 when she enrolled in a master’s programme at Chung-Ang University. However, she actually learned about cinema through interactions with other cinephiles. She joined Jangsangot mae31 through Lee Eun,32 whom she met by chance during the master’s entrance exam. Through group activities, she was seriously introduced to films d’auteur. In the same year, together with director Kim Soyoung, she founded a group of women cinephiles called Bariteo. Initially, it was simply a social gathering, but later, seminars covering topics from film theory to feminist film criticism were organized under Kim Soyoung's leadership. Thanks to this, Byun Young-Joo’s cinephilia was sharpened. Thus, her film studies clearly took place more outside of school. She decided to pursue a career in film, and dropped out of graduate school without earning a master’s degree in Film Studies.

• 34 Hong 2019: Sora Hong, “La génération des centres culturels (Munhwawon sedae) et la nouvelle vague d (...)

14Most of the relational capital that has played an important role in the South Korean film industry since the mid-1980s comes from the Munhwawon sedae network, which was formed by young moviegoers spending hours in the darkened theatres of foreign cultural centres in Seoul in the late 1970s, especially the FCC and the Goethe-Institut. The Munhwawon sedae members share several characteristics. First, they belong to the baby boomer generation, born between 1955 and 1963 after the Korean War. Second, they are part of the intellectual social class. Finally, their network was explicitly male-dominated. 34This network expanded as the activities of the cinephiles who were part of it developed in the cinematic field.

• 36 Hong 2019: Ibid, p. 59.

16Figure 1 is a schematic diagram showing how the Munhwawon sedae network developed from 1977 to 1990 through the relationship between film groups and the film movement against the authoritarian rule. In this diagram, the years indicated are those of the creation of the group. Nodes are institutions in the network, and links are the relationships between these nodes. A link is established when there is at least one articulating element. If the two institutions have a strong link, particularly of succession, it is shown in bold. However, this diagram does not cover all the groups that have existed, as many were created and then dissolved very quickly, particularly between 1984 and 1990. These groups were selected on the basis of the presence of individuals from the Munhwawon sedae within them, but also in terms of their dynamism and performance.36

• 39 From 1982, five or six French films were screened each month at the Sejong Centre for the Performin (...)
• 40 Jung Sung-il (1969 – ). South Korean film critic and director.

18The early to mid-1980s, when Yim Soon-rye and Lee Jeong-hyang attended the FCC in Seoul, was a period of great prosperity for the establishment’s film program. There were so many people who wanted to benefit from the film screenings there, and the FCC could not cope with such an overwhelming audience. Therefore, from 1982 to 1985, special screenings of French films were held at the Sejong centre for the performing arts.39 Within the FCC, the Ciné-club Seoul was founded in 1977 and Toyo danpyeon (Saturday Short Film) in 1982. The latter was an alternating screening program for Korean and French short films. It provided a new space for young South Korean cinephiles to show their work regularly and share their ideas and knowledge about film production. The network of cinephiles, which was built around the FCC’s film programs, gradually moved to the Goethe-Institut, a place for the most serious enthusiasts. Since then, more academic film studies have been self-taught at Dongseo yeonghwa yeon-guhoe (Orient-Occident Cinema Studies Club), the successor to the Goethe-Institut’s film club. Jung Sung-il40 remembers the moment he met the cinephiles with whom he connected within the Munhwawon Sedae:

• 42 Nang Huiseop, president of the Independent Cinema Society who was in charge of the Saturday Short F (...)

19For Yim Soon-rye and Lee Jeong-hyang, however, there were no “brothers” or “sisters” at the FCC. For them, it was nothing more than a place to devour films that could not be seen anywhere else. The Munhwawon sedae network was male-dominated from the start. Yim Soon-rye has never belonged to any group in the network shown in Figure 1. On the other hand, we can see some overlap between the backgrounds of Lee Jeong-hyang and Byun Young-Joo, in terms of their process of becoming directors: Lee Jeong-hyang was part of Yeonghwa madang uri (Cinema Yard Uri) in addition to the Korean Film Academy. Yeonghwa madang uri was founded in 1984 by members of the film clubs of the French and German cultural centres, who shared the same objectives as the cultural movement in favour of the minjung (the people as victims of social contradictions produced by the ruling class).42 But despite her participation in Yeonghwa madang uri, which later led the cultural movement in favour of minjung, we find no trace of Lee Jung-hyang either in any of the activities related to the cultural movement or the Muhwawon sedae.

• 43 Byun 2021: Ibid.
• 44 Ibid.

20As for Byun Young-Joo, it was through the members of Jangsangot mae that she came to know the Munhwawon sedae who helped her to tale a more serious view of cinema.43 However, Byun Young-Joo’s membership in Jangsangot mae did not last long. She remained a member until the start of shooting Pa-eop jeonya (The Day Before the Strike, 1990). Even Jangsangot mae, who stood on the side of the socially disadvantaged, had a male-dominated culture in which Byun Young-Joo’s voice could not resonate. One day, when she heard some members of Jangsangot mae making sexist and insulting remarks about women,44 she left the group altogether.

• 46 Among Park Kwang-su’s former assistant directors are Hwang Gyu-Deok from Chilsu and Mansu (1988), K (...)
• 47 The Network for the Promotion of Asian Cinema Award (NETPAC Award) is awarded for the best South Ko (...)

22In 1993, Yim Soon-rye took part in the production of Choi Sa-gyu’s film Deulso (Bison) as a script supervisor. However, the project was cancelled during filming for various reasons, including production costs and a lack of technology. It was Yeo Kyun-dong who introduced Yim Soon-rye to Chungmuro. Yeo Kyun-dong began his career in the film industry as a member of Park Kwang-su’s directing team. He then worked as an assistant director on Bereullin ripoteu (Berlin Report, 1991) by the same filmmaker. In 1994 he made his first feature film, Sesang bakkeuro (Out to the World). This experience allowed Yim Soon-rye to familiarize herself with the South Korean film industry system, but did not lead to her inclusion in Park Kwang-su’s network, called “Bakgwangsu sadan” (Park Kwang-su division)46. In the same year, Yim Soon-rye’s Walking in the Rain won the Best Film Award at the first Short Film Festival organized by Samsung Nices, Samsung’s video business company. After winning the award, Samsung’s investment enabled Yim Soon-rye to release her first feature film, Se chin-gu (Three Friends, 1996). She was also invited to “New Current”, a competition for new Asian directors at the first Busan International Film Festival in 1996, and received the “Network for the Promotion of Asian Cinema Award”. 47

• 49 Yi 1998: Jangse Yi, “Cheongnyong yeonghwasang sinario daesang yeonghwahwa (A scenario that won the (...)
• 50 Sin 1999: Yeonsu Sin, “Chungmuro yeoseong sa inbang halliudeu nulleotda (Four women in Chungmuro be (...)
• 51 Lee Mi-young (1967 – ). South Korean film director and producer.
• 52 Sin 1999: Ibid.

23Lee Jeong-hyang joined Chungmuro’s master-apprentice system in the late 1980s and worked for three directors: Park Chul-soo, Ahn Jae-seok and Lee Jang-ho. However, the relational capital gained from her experience in directing teams ​​did not allow Lee Jeong-hyang to make her first feature film, Misulgwan yeop dongmurwon (Art Museum by the Zoom 1998). In the Chungmuro apprenticeship system, an apprentice had to work under the direction of his master for several years before making his directorial debut. However, Lee Jeong-hyang worked for three directors, for one film from each of them. She had to wait a few more years before her screenplay won a grand prize at a film festival in 1997, giving her enough of a reputation to be considered a director capable of making a quality film. Cine2000, Lee Chun-yeon’s film production company, took care of Lee Jeong-hyang’s first feature film. According to an article in Sports Chosun on August 3, 1998, it was Lee Chun-yeon’ support that made it possible to cast the best South Korean stars of the time, such as Ahn Sung-ki, Shim Eun-ha, Lee Sung-jae and Song Seon-mi, for “the first work of a female director despite the history of female filmmakers being insignificant in the film industry.”49 However, when Lee Chun-yeon first met Lee Jeong-hyang, he said, “I’m afraid such an immature young woman could not say ‘Ready Go’ correctly.”50   He was convinced by another female director Lee Mi-young, 51who was working as a producer for Lee Chun-yeon at the time.52 Thanks to the awards that Yim Soon-rye and Lee Jeong-hyang won at major South Korean film events, they were able to gain important symbolic capital by receiving official recognition from those who already had authority. This was the direct trigger for them to make their first feature films.

• 53 Oh 2021: Hyun-suk Oh, “Haniljeon chukgu gwallyeon naesyeoneol jeogin damnone gwanhan ilgochal (A St (...)
• 54 A euphemism for women victims of sexual crimes committed by the Japanese Imperial Army during World (...)

24Unlike Yim Soon-rye and Lee Jeong-hyang, who were in the film industry, Byun Young-Joo, who was in the independent cinematic field, seems to have made her debut as a director as a result of media interest. Byun Young-Joo’s first film, Asia eseo yeoseong euro sandaneun geot (Women Being in Asia, 1993), is a documentary about the power differential between South Korea and Japan, which is closely linked to Japanese sex tourism in South Korea. Almost all Korean newspapers have published articles about this documentary. It was unusual for the media to show so much interest in an independent short documentary film that had never been released in theatres. In Korea, nationalism emerged as a form of resistance during Japanese colonization from 1910 to 1945. Since then, the discourse in which the former colonizer is the target of hostile feelings has been produced and reproduced among Koreans. A typical example is the expression: “You shouldn’t even lose a game of rock, paper, scissors if it is against Japan.” 53In particular, following the testimony of activist Kim Hak-sun who first brought the issue of “comfort women”54 in Korea in 1991, the question of the country’s past with Japan has become more prominent in South Korea. In this context, the story of a woman that Byun Young-Joo met while filming Women Being in Asia attracted attention. The woman was a prostitute for Japanese tourists, and her mother had been a “comfort woman,” the victim of sexual violence committed by the Japanese army.

• 55 Byun 2021: Ibid.
• 56 Ibid.

25Since, Byun Young-Joo received many suggestions to make a documentary about “comfort women”. However, it was not out of a sense of social obligation, but for personal reasons that Byun Young-Joo chose to tell the story of “comfort women” in her first feature documentary, Najeun moksori – asia eseo yeoseong euro sandaneun geot (The Murmuring – Women Being in Asia, 1995). Byun Young-Joo began to ask herself the question: “How will the lives of the victims of Japanese military sex slavery change when they are revealed to the world after living with their mouths shut for fifty years?” And she made this documentary to find the answer.55 The documentary is the first film to address the issue of “comfort women,” but instead of digging into the past, making accusations, or re-enacting the incident, it focuses on the current lives of the surviving women. The documentary was the first in Korean documentary history to be released in theatres, and allowed Byun Young-Joo to make her directorial debut. For a long time after that, before she made commercial films, she would often meet people who would say to her, “I haven’t seen your documentary, but I give you my respect.”56