A scene from the oldest surviving Korean film, ``Cheongchun's Sipjaro,'' which was made in 1934.


By Cathy Rose A. Garcia
Staff Reporter

The Korean Film Archive (KOFA) on Tuesday screened the oldest surviving Korean film, ``Cheongchun's Sipjaro,'' which was made in 1934.

A film archive official said the film, directed by An Jong-hwa, was discovered in Korea. However, the owner of the film declined to be identified.

``Cheongchun's Sipjaro,'' a black-and-white silent film, was first screened at the Joseon Theater, Seoul in September 1934. The film is a melodrama about lives of the poor..

There are two other films known to be older than ``Cheongchun's Sipjaro,'' but the KOFA does not have any copies. The oldest Korean film is ``Uilijeogguto (Fight for Justice),'' which was screened on Oct. 27, 1919. The first dramatic Korean film is ``Weolha-ui Mangseo (The Vow Made below the Moon),'' which was directed by Yun Baek-nam and shown in 1923.

Before ``Cheongchun's Sipjaro'' was discovered, the oldest Korean film that KOFA preserved was 1936's ``Mimong'' (Sweet Dream). ``Mimong'' was directed and edited by Yang Ju-nam in 1936. The China Film Archive donated the film to the KOFA in 2005. Almost the entire reel of the film was preserved.

According to KOFA, there were seven domestic films produced between 1910 and 1920, and 61 films from 1920 to 1930. However, the KOFA does not have copies of the films made between 1910 and 1930.

Between 1930 and 1940, there were 73 films produced, but only copies of five films have been acquired by the KOFA.

The KOFA said the total number of films that have been produced in Korea is around 5,500, and some 40 percent of the films were lost.

Under the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, the KOFA collects and preserves Korean films and film-related documents. It also promotes the artistic, historical, and educational development of Korean film.

The KOFA was established in 1974 with the purpose of collecting and preserving Korean films. It was reorganized as a government-affiliated public foundation in 2002.

cathy@koreatimes.co.kr