For the entire month of October, the Korean Film Archive (KOFA) is holding a free VOD retrospective called “Radio Days”, screening ten films from the golden era of films in the 60s that were originally based on popular radio programs.

 

In Korea, the 1950s and 60s were the heyday of not just films but of radio, too, and a lot of radio programs that were popular hits were then adapted into films and plays. The classic films A Romantic Papa, directed by SHIN Sang-ok in 1960, and The Sea Knows (a.k.a. Hyunhaetan Knows, directed by KIM Kee-duk in 1961, were both based on radio serial shows.

 

These and eight more films from a ide variety of genres are available for viewing online, including the historical melodrama A Reluctant Prince (1963) – also directed by Shin Sang-ok and the criminal thriller set in a hospital White Rose (1969), directed by KO Young-nam. Director LEE Bong-rae’s melodrama about a country girl who marries into big Seoul family New Bride (1962) could be an anthropological find when it comes to the depiction of everyday family life at the time; whereas AHN Hyeon-cheol’s comical historical dramatization A Wanderer (1962) is based on Crown Prince Yangnyeong’s deviations from the life of a royal as he steps aside to let his younger brother take the throne and later become the Joseon Dynasty’s wisest king Sejong. The retrospective also has director HAN Hyung-mo’s The Queen of Elegy (1967), based on the life of the famous singer and living legend LEE Mi-ja.

 

KOFA’s Radio Days special screenings are available on www.kmdb.or.kr until the end of October. Additional information about the original radio programs is also available on the website.

Oct. 4, 2011