The Korean cultural identity: From Chunhyang Jeon to Chunhyang flm (2000)

Chunhyang Jeon is a classic Korean literary masterpiece of the Joseon period that profoundly influenced Korean people's lives from ancient to modern times. This work became the frst source of material for most Korean flmmakers who started the country's flm industry. Director Im Kwontaek's 2000 flm Chunhyang fully revived this work and brought Korean cinema to a brilliant peak. The article analyzes the most typical cultural addresses that appear in the story and the flm, such as the traditional singing art of pansori, the female protagonist built to become a model, and the issue of sexuality - one element creating the cultural value. The article uses interdisciplinary-cultural research methods combined with feminist criticism to examine documents. With a dialogical approach between two artistic texts from a cultural perspective, we want to clarify the appearance of Korean national identity through the collision of traditional and innovative concepts. At the same time, it brings a new perspective to the two works when looking at cultural contributions in the spiritual aspect and thinking about women as part of the nation's history.