A Song of Korean Factory Girls (2024)

My name is KIM Bok-dong

In 1992, KIM Bok-dong, reported herself as a victim of the sexual slavery, "comfort women" during World War Ⅱ. She wanted to receive the proper apology from the Japan government but they denied its responsibility. In 2011, commemorating the 1000th Wednesday demonstration, Statue of Peace was installed in front of the Embassy of Japan. The fight over Japan confronts a new stage.

The Silence

The Silence narrates the struggle of fifteen "comfort women"—former sex slaves by the Imperial Japanese Army during WWII—for recognition and reparation. The "comfort women" issue has previously been treated almost exclusively within the framework of Korean nationalism. The Silence will provide insight into the ways in which nationalism and the emergence of post-war Asian nation-states have hindered the understanding of "comfort women" narratives through Zainichi Korean documentary filmmaker Soo-nam Park's point of view.

1919 Yu Gwan-sun

A film that explores the lives of female independence activists who fought against the Japanese Occupation in the North and South of Korea.

The Ukishima Maru Massacre

22nd of August, 1945. Japan lost the war and they loaded an 8,000 person Joseon laborer force onto a ship called the Ukisima to take them to the Busan Port. However, the ship sunk into the water due to an unknown blast. This is the story of thousands of Joseon people who dreamed of returning to their families and how they died.

Shusenjo: The Main Battleground of the Comfort Women Issue

A Japanese-American director digs deep into the controversial 'comfort women' issue to settle the debate on whether the women were paid prostitutes or sex slaves, and reveals the motivations and intentions of the main actors pushing to revise history in Japan.

Media Mafia: a Tale of Two Newspapers

The 100 years of history of the Chosun Ilbo and the Dong-A Ilbo show that wrong press can be a social weapon.

Things That Do Us Part

Things That Do Us Part is a documentary that reframes the stories of three women fighters who dove into a tragic war in modern Korean history, using witness statements and reenactments.

Comfort

KIM Soonak is a survivor of sex slavery by the Japanese military. The war may have ended, but her life was still at a war. She lived in the prostitute quarters to survive, did sex business in the US military camp town, and peddled goods from the US military. She raised two kids on her own as she worked as a maid. We’ll listen to her story in her absence. The film reconstructs the life story of the deceased KIM Soonak with interviews with activists, archive videos, animation, and read-aloud testimony.

East Asia Anti-Japan Armed Front

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The Big Picture

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MAL·MO·E: The Secret Mission

During the Japanese occupation of Korea, the Japanese Empire seeks to eradicate the Korean language and identity. In retaliation, a small group of Korean patriots try to protect their language by compiling the first Korean language dictionary.

General's Son

In Japanese-occupied South Korea, a young man, newly-released from prison, is accepted into a gang for his fighting skills and quickly rises to the top. Based on the life of South Korean mobster and politician Kim Du-han.

The Battle: Roar to Victory

Over a 4 day period, a fierce battle takes place between Korean independence militias and imperialist Japanese forces in Manchuria, China. The militia includes a master swordsman and an expert marksman.

The Last Princess

Under the oppressive Japanese colonial rule, Deok-hye, the last Princess of the declining Joseon Dynasty, is forced to move to Japan. She spends her days missing home, while struggling to maintain dignity as a princess. After a series of failed tries, Deok-hye makes her final attempt to return home with help of her childhood sweetheart, Jang-han.

Race to Freedom: Um Bok-dong

During the Japanese colonial rule of Korea, while people are in despair, Jae-ho tries to raise morale by winning cycle championship. Bok-dong, who started cycling with Jae-ho just to make a forture, becomes a symbol of hope for Koreans by defeating Japanese cyclists.

Dachimawa Lee

Under Japanese imperialism, Korean national treasure Golden Buddha is stolen. More important to national security, the statue contains vital information concerning Korean freedom fighters and their whereabouts as well as their true identities. The interim Korean government appoints legendary Korean spy Agent Dachimawa Lee to recover the fabled statue and reveal the dark plot behind the theft.

Road to Boston

A rousing tale of the Korean athletes who ran the 1947 Boston International Marathon, the first international marathon held since World War II.

Hero

Ahn Jung-geun, a commander in the Korean Independence Army, leaves behind his country, his family and his mother Cho Maria. Ahn Jung-geun and his comrades cut off the last segment of their ring fingers as a symbol of their dedication to liberate their nation, and as a solemn oath to kill Ito Hirobumi, a man at the center of Japan’s occupation of Korea, within three years. To keep his oath, Ahn Jung-geun arrives in Vladivostok. Meanwhile, Seol-hee, the independence fighters’ informant, disguises herself to get close to Ito Hirobumi. She finds out that Ito Hirobumi will be heading to Harbin to meet with a Russian delegation, and urgently informs the independence fighters. The fateful day of October 26, 1909 arrives. Ahn Jung-geun, who has been yearning for this day does not hesitate to fire his gun at Ito Hirobumi at Harbin Station. Arrested on site, he is charged with murder and tried not in a court of Joseon but in that of Japan…

Blue Sky

In 1920, a combat flight training school named "Willows" is founded in California. People who want to fight for Korea’s independence from Japan gather at the school. Their mission is to bomb the palace of the Japanese emperor. The pilots’ ardent desire for Korea’s independence grows, but as they prepare for their mission, a spy in the school ruins their plans. However, KIM Ja-jung and the other pilots manage to get on board for what will most likely be their last flight.

General's Son 2

Upon being released from prison, Kim Du-han begins rebuilding his street gang in the face of Hayashi's Yakuzas and increasing Japanese influence.

General's Son 3

Following the final events of General's Son 2, Kim Du-han is forced to go on the lam but eventually returns to Jongro where he attempts to rebuild his gang with the brothers that are still alive and loyal and defeat Hayashi's Yakuzas once and for all.

The Battleship Island

During the Japanese colonial era, roughly 400 Korean people, who were forced onto Battleship Island 'Hashima Island' to mine for coal, attempt to escape.

Genealogy

During the Japanese occupation of South Korea, a Japanese bureaucrat is ordered to persuade an influential Korean patriarch into obeying the law of changing his Korean surname to a Japanese one.

Once Upon a Time

The film is a heist comedy set in 1940s Korea, and stars Park Yong-woo and Lee Bo-young as a con artist and jazz singer who each plot to steal a valuable diamond from the Japanese authorities.

The Bell Tower

An elderly bell maker reminisces about his life filled with tragedy.

Anarchist from Colony

Based on the life of the Korean anarchist Park Yeol, the film shows his struggle to counter the massacre of Koreans by the government during the 1923 great Kanto earthquake, focusing on his activities as the leader of the anti-Japanese organization Bulryeongsa and his relationship with Japanese comrade Fumiko Kaneko.

Yu Gwan-Sun

This film is about of the life of the young patriotic martyr Yu Gwan-sun, who fought for the liberation of her country during the Independence Movement in 1919. As the Independence Movement becomes more and more intense among Korean students, the Japanese authorities order schools closed temporarily. Yu Gwan-sun (Do Geum-bong) persuades her neighbors to join the national movement, and continues her aggressive struggle against Japanese rule. An independent campaign at Aunae, a market site, is successful with the passionate participation of many people. She is arrested by the Japanese police for leading the campaign and has to endure horrible tortures. But she never gives up her fight, encouraging her cell mates to participate in the movement. She is finally taken to an underground room by the Japanese police and murdered.

Fighter in the Wind

An account of karate competitor Choi Yeung-Eui who went to Japan after World War II to become a fighter pilot but found a very different path instead. He changed his name to Masutatsu Oyama and went across the country, defeating martial artists one after another. This film concentrates on the period when he is still young, and developing his famous karate style, Kyokushin.

Radio Dayz

In April 1933, Korea’s Japanese occupiers launched the country’s first radio station, JODK. It broadcasts propaganda so as to better brainwash the Korean people into becoming loyal Japanese citizens. In need of a Korean producer for a radio drama about the greatness of Japan’s Asian Empire, they appoint Lloyd Park, a young man who has only joined the radio station through his father’s connections.

Assassination

In Japanese-occupied Korea, three freedom fighters are assigned a mission to assassinate a genocidal military leader and his top collaborator. But the plan goes completely awry amidst double-crossings, counter-assassinations, and a shocking revelation about one of the assassins' past.

Remember

Pil-ju, an Alzheimer's patient in his 80s, who lost all his family during the Japanese colonial era, and devotes his lifelong revenge before his memories disappear, and a young man in his 20s who helps him.

Epitaph

A traumatized girl sees visions of her dead mother in one of three tales set in a 1942 South Korean hospital.

Man of Will

Young Kim Chang-soo is placed behind bars, charged with murdering a Japanese person who took part in Empress Myeongseong's assassination. In prison, Kim Chang-soo sees how Koreans are persecuted and grows into a fighter for Korean independence.

Tuning Fork

From the Japanese Occupation a 'comfort woman' returns from China an old woman. At the end of the war she can't return home and spends the next 65 years living as an alien in a foreign country. Even to her own granddaughter she seems to be losing her mind. She only wants to go back to Korea.

My Way

During the invasion of Normandy the photograph of a slim Korean man in German uniform was found. It transpired that the man had served as a soldier in the Japanese, Russian and German armies. His incredible story inspired director Kang Je-Gyu to create this epic war drama.

The Anarchists

Set in 1920s Shanghai, the film recounts the activities of a group of young Koreans trying to destabilize Japanese control of their penninsula. Through an anti-occupation terrorist campaign, the five men hope to inspire a resurrection throughout their penninsular homeland.

When Taekwondo Strikes

The story is about the Japanese occupation of Korea during World War II. A Korean patriot played by Carter Wong gets into a fight with some Japanese people and is chased into a church. The priest there is captured and tortured. Trying to secure his release, the leader of the resistance, Jhoon Rhee is himself captured and tortured by the Japanese. Carter Wong, Angela Mao and Anne Winton have to now try and rescue him. This leads to an explosive climax with the heroes having to fight the likes of Wong In Sik (Hwang In-Shik), Sammo Hung and Kenji Kazama.

YMCA Baseball Team

Hochang accidentally sees missionaries and Jeongrim play baseball at the YMCA hall. He falls in love with Jeongrim, and takes interest in baseball. As a result, he gathers people to form the first YMCA baseball team of Joseon.

Exhuma

After tracing the origin of a disturbing supernatural affliction to a wealthy family's ancestral gravesite, a team of paranormal experts relocates the remains—and soon discovers what happens to those who dare to mess with the wrong grave.

Herstory

A true story of a six-year-long legal conflict of 10 comfort women and 13 attorneys against 200 Fukuoka supporters association.

Hurrah! For Freedom

Hurrah! For Freedom (aka Viva Freedom) is a 1946 Korean film directed by Choi In-kyu. It was the first film made in the country after achieving independence from Japan. During the country's occupation Choi was only allowed to make Japan-friendly films, but the plot of Hurrah! For Freedom is distinctly different, telling the story of a Korean resistance fighter in 1945.

My Dear Keum-hong

The story takes place during the period of Japanese Imperialism in Korea. It tells the tale of the life and loves of one peculiar poet. In 1932, Bon-wwong returned from studying fine arts in Japan. He is known as a painter of the Fauvism school of the Art. At the first successful exhibition of his works, he meets a young man, Lee Sang, a poet with really queer character. Soon Lee Sang and Bon-woong become close friends, and they meet almost every day and enjoy all kinds of interesting and usual events. Lee Sang goes to visit Bakchon (a health resort) for medical treatment. Bon-woong follow him. At Bakchon, Lee and Bon-woong meet Keum-hong (a famous waitress) and both fall in love with her. Lee loves Keum-hong physically, vulgarly, and indecently. On the contrary, Bon-woong loves her spiritually and platonically with respect. So, he can do nothing but watch the torrid love affair between Lee and Keum-hong.

Traces

A Japanese fine art teacher helps a Korean independence fighter to escape from a threat of being arrested by the Japanese police. The Korean man introduces him a gisaeng (Koran geisha) who learned Korean traditional court dance and he falls in love with her. However she hates Japanese because her parents were killed in the war.

The Age of Shadows

Set in the late 1920s, The Age of Shadows follows the cat-and-mouse game that unfolds between a group of resistance fighters trying to bring in explosives from Shanghai to destroy key Japanese facilities in Seoul, and Japanese agents trying to stop them.

The Tiger

In 1925 Korea, Japanese rulers demand the last remaining tiger be killed. The tiger easily defeats his pursuers until a legendary hunter takes him on.