Byeon Gi-jong

The Martyrs

Out of fourteen ministers taken away by the communist troop, only two come back alive. The mystery behind their survival is at the issue here. Told through one of the survivor's testimony, depicts images of men troubled between the war and the religion. Although laden with anti-Communist notions from the 60's military regime.

Full Ship

A film picturing the lives and adversities of fishermen who live and die in the sea.

Nameless Stars

The son of a freedom fighter, Sang-hun is a member of an anti-Japanese resistance group called "Seongjinhoe," composed of students who share a dedication to the cause of liberation. Their spiritual guide is a teacher named Song Un-in. One day, Yeong-ae, whose brother is a detective in the Japanese police force charged with monitoring independence movements, joins their group. Following a series of sporadic incidents, the students gather one night to resolve on an uprising, but are discovered by the police. Young-ae is wrongfully accused of betraying their plans, but she risks her life in order to allow the group members to escape. The morning after, the students of Gwangju rise up against the Japanese government.

Palace of Ambition

A nobleman bribes a maidservant to gain access to the palace and poison the crown prince. Another noble, loyal to the royal family, learns the of the plot and must learn the identity of the would-be assassin before he can succeed in throwing the country into chaos.

Iljimae the Chivalrous Robber

Iljimae's parents were killed due to a conspiracy when he was young. Many years later he became a chivalrous robber, robbing corrupt officials and helping the poor. He eventually manages in taking revenge for his parents' deaths. But the police start to chase him, and he hides himself at a gisaeng's house. The gisaeng was his ex-fiancee. She also lost her parents to a conspiracy. She begs Iljimae to stay with her, but he leaves to do what he has to.

The Devil

Based on a story by Nae-seong Kim.

Romance Papa

A middle-aged man is laid off from work but is too proud to tell his family. His children, however, learn of the situation and take jobs of their own to help him save face.

The Evergreen

Yeong-shin and Dong-hyuk graduate from college with a cause. They plan to bring education and modernization to farmers living in the rural area of their hometown. When they arrive, the pair immediately get to work, Dong-hyuk builds a village hall and starts aiding the farmers while Yeong-shin tries to gather the children to form a school. However, the villagers at first resent and resist the pair. It is not until one child, Ok-bun, takes the initiative and and learns to read under Yeong-shin’s care that the villages trust the pair and allow their children to be taken from the fields and taught reading, writing and math.

The Martyrs

Out of fourteen ministers taken away by the communist troop, only two come back alive. The mystery behind their survival is at the issue here. Told through one of the survivor's testimony, depicts images of men troubled between the war and the religion. Although laden with anti-Communist notions from the 60's military regime.

Full Ship

A film picturing the lives and adversities of fishermen who live and die in the sea.

Nameless Stars

The son of a freedom fighter, Sang-hun is a member of an anti-Japanese resistance group called "Seongjinhoe," composed of students who share a dedication to the cause of liberation. Their spiritual guide is a teacher named Song Un-in. One day, Yeong-ae, whose brother is a detective in the Japanese police force charged with monitoring independence movements, joins their group. Following a series of sporadic incidents, the students gather one night to resolve on an uprising, but are discovered by the police. Young-ae is wrongfully accused of betraying their plans, but she risks her life in order to allow the group members to escape. The morning after, the students of Gwangju rise up against the Japanese government.

Palace of Ambition

A nobleman bribes a maidservant to gain access to the palace and poison the crown prince. Another noble, loyal to the royal family, learns the of the plot and must learn the identity of the would-be assassin before he can succeed in throwing the country into chaos.

Iljimae the Chivalrous Robber

Iljimae's parents were killed due to a conspiracy when he was young. Many years later he became a chivalrous robber, robbing corrupt officials and helping the poor. He eventually manages in taking revenge for his parents' deaths. But the police start to chase him, and he hides himself at a gisaeng's house. The gisaeng was his ex-fiancee. She also lost her parents to a conspiracy. She begs Iljimae to stay with her, but he leaves to do what he has to.

The Devil

Based on a story by Nae-seong Kim.

Romance Papa

A middle-aged man is laid off from work but is too proud to tell his family. His children, however, learn of the situation and take jobs of their own to help him save face.

The Evergreen

Yeong-shin and Dong-hyuk graduate from college with a cause. They plan to bring education and modernization to farmers living in the rural area of their hometown. When they arrive, the pair immediately get to work, Dong-hyuk builds a village hall and starts aiding the farmers while Yeong-shin tries to gather the children to form a school. However, the villagers at first resent and resist the pair. It is not until one child, Ok-bun, takes the initiative and and learns to read under Yeong-shin’s care that the villages trust the pair and allow their children to be taken from the fields and taught reading, writing and math.

King Gojong and Martyr An Jung-geun

At the end of the Joseon Dynasty, shortly after the Eulsa Treaty has been forced to be concluded by Ito Hirobumi and the pro-Japanese courtiers, Japan pressures King Gojong to step down from the throne. Meanwhile, An Jung-geun, who is cultivating men of ability at Samheung school, is deeply impressed by a speech made by An Chang-ho, and heads for Russia to volunteer the army fighting for independence of the country. As both a lieutenant general of the Korean militia and a commander of the Korean expeditionary force in Manchuria, he carries on the independence movement in defiance of Japanese coercion.

Prince Yeonsan

A historical drama about Prince Yeon-san of Joseon as a prince trying to restore the status of his mother, the deposed and executed Queen Yun.

A Happy Day of Jinsa Maeng

Jinsa Maeng's daughter is contracted to marry a nobleman's son, however, Jinsa Maeng is upset when he hears about a rumor that the fiance of his daughter is lame. Finally, he decides to take on the idea of arranging his maid to take his daughter's place in the wedding.

Tyrant Yeonsan

Prince Yeonsan-gun turns into a tyrant out of grief for his mother's death. He orders beheadings of all the officials who displease him or who advised the previous king to depose the queen. He becomes crueler by the day. But in 10th year of his reign, he is kicked out of the throne and dies a tragic death.

Even the Clouds Are Drifting

After the death of Mal-Suk's father, her eldest brother, Dong-suk, becomes the sole breadwinner for his three siblings. With rumors of impending strikes and job cuts at the local mine, the struggling family faces difficulties in providing food and school fees for Mal-Suk and her brother Dong-il. This situation forces the two older siblings to move to Seoul, leaving the younger ones with their neighbors. Mal-Suk's only outlet is in her diary, where she candidly shares her hopes and troubles.

The Wedding Day

Master Maeng is very proud that an influential family will soon be his esteemed in-laws when his loving daughter, Mi-yeon, marries their son. A few days before the wedding Maeng hears a rumor that his future son-in-law has a cripple leg. Regretting that he can't give his lovely daughter to a cripple, he decides to marry his maid to him instead. Unexpectedly the future son-in-law shows up at the wedding hall and he is not a cripple, but a healthy and handsome youth. Feeling embarrassed, there is no way but to wed the maid to him. The Wedding Day is a recreation of A Happy Day of Jinsa Maeng, a comical play by Oh Yeong Jin. The first Korean film to win an international film award, the Best Comedy Award at the 1957 edition of the Asian Film Festival (now Asia Pacific Film Festival).

Chun Hui

A young man is in love with a waitress, but his father opposes their relationship. The father approaches the waitress telling her that if she truly loved his son, she would abandon him. She submits to the father's wish, though she is dying from tuberculosis.

A Sad Story of Danjong

The Way of Hwarang

His parents captured by the Baekje armies, prince Eo-jin infiltrates the enemy castle alone to seek revenge. His plot is ruined when he falls in love with a princess there and is forced to choose between betraying his parents and nation or the woman he loves.

A Hometown in Heart

An orphan left in the care of a Buddhist temple becomes attached to a young widow who arrives there to mourn her recently deceased son.

A Widow

A Red-and-blue Gauze Lantern

When the Night Comes Again

Great Monk Wonhyo

After losing his best friend in a fierce battle against Baekje in the first year of Queen Jindeok's reign, Hwarang Won-hyo questions life and death and becomes a monk. Despite being courted by countless women, from Queen Jindeok to Princess Yoseok, Sammo, and Asaga, Won-hyo resists all temptations. Until one day, when he is moved by Princess Yoseok's desperate prayers, he wanders the streets, feeling guilty for his disloyal behavior.

A Water Mill

There is a poor farmer couple. The landowner, an old man, covetous of the tenant's wife, tries to seduce her and sometimes threatens her. The wife spends every night with the old man at the water mill. Her husband, hearing the news, runs to the water mill and witnesses them together. He picks up the sickle that was placed near and kills his wife. The landowner escapes and the farmer gets arrested by a Japanese policeman.

Nakdong River

After graduating from university, Il-ryeong goes back to his hometown, a small village beside the Nakdong River. Ok-nam is his lover and a teacher in his hometown. He cooperates with her in order to enlighten the people and to improve the village. Nakdong River is, along with The Street of Sun (1952) and A Bouquet of Thirty Million People (1951), one of the important films made during the Korean War that the Korean Film Archive has rediscovered and made available to the public.