PARK Kwang-su was in the middle of the new wave of Korean movies that started in late-1980s. His movies take on social and historical issues with stoic sense of realism. PARK developed his directing skills through student movie club activities in college (student movie clubs sprouted on many college campuses in the mid-1980s in Korea), and thus brought with him different intellectual and aesthetic views to Korea’s movie scene, which was populated mostly by directors who cl...More

PARK Kwang-su was in the middle of the new wave of Korean movies that started in late-1980s. His movies take on social and historical issues with stoic sense of realism. PARK developed his directing skills through student movie club activities in college (student movie clubs sprouted on many college campuses in the mid-1980s in Korea), and thus brought with him different intellectual and aesthetic views to Korea’s movie scene, which was populated mostly by directors who climbed up the ranks of Chungmooro. His debut film, <Chil-su and Man-su>(1988), depicts contradictions of the Korean society seen through the eyes of two signboard painters. Poor working conditions and the division of South and North Koreas, two of the most sensitive issues back then, were the focus of his continued interest. <Black Republic>(1990) and <A Single Spark>(1995) are among his best works. Park was also an skilled administrator who helped establish [Pusan International Film Festival], the representative film festival of Asia. He also led [Busan Film Commission] from its inception and played a pivotal role in making the city of Busan the movie mecca of Korea. Less