Righteous Revenge
{{Short description|1919 film considered the first in Korea}}
{{For|the 1982 Judas Priest album|Screaming for Vengeance}}
{{Italic title}}
{{Infobox film
| name = Righteous Revenge
| native_name = {{Infobox Korean film name/auto
|hangul=^의리적 구토
|hanja=義理的仇討
}}
| image = Advertisement in a 1919 newspaper for the kino-drama Uirijeok guto.jpg
| caption = An advertisement for the film in the Maeil Sinbo (1919)
| screenplay = {{Ill|Kim Do-san|ko|김도산}}
| producer = Park Seong-pil
| released = {{Film date|1919|10|27|Dansungsa, Seoul}}
| country = Korea, Empire of Japan
| language = Korean
}}
Righteous Revenge ({{Korean|hangul=의리적 구토}} or {{Korean|hangul=의리적 구투|labels=no}}), sometimes Loyal Revenge{{Sfnp|Yecies|2005|p=78}} or Screaming for Vengeance,{{Cite web |last=이 |first=세빈 |date=2019-11-06 |script-title=ko:연극으로 만나는 한국 최초 영화 '의리적 구토' |url=https://www.mhns.co.kr/news/articleView.html?idxno=325595 |access-date=2023-10-08 |website=문화뉴스 |language=ko}} was a Korean kino-drama (a stageplay with a film backdrop).{{Cite web |last=Lee |first=Gyu-lee |date=2019-10-13 |title=Centennial of Korean cinema - From humble beginnings to mega hits |url=https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/art/2023/10/689_277051.html |access-date=2023-10-08 |website=The Korea Times |language=en}}{{Cite web |last=Lee |first=Gyu-lee |date=2019-10-25 |title='Righteous Revenge' marks birth of Korean cinema |url=https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/art/2023/10/689_277694.html |access-date=2023-10-08 |website=The Korea Times |language=en}}{{Cite web |last=Lee |first=Jae-lim |date=2020-02-20 |title=Century of Korean film: 100 years after first local movie, industry makes history on global stage |url=https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/2020/02/20/features/Century-of-Korean-film-100-years-after-first-local-movie-industry-makes-history-on-global-stage/3074093.html |access-date=2023-10-08 |website=Korea JoongAng Daily |language=en}} It was directed by {{Ill|Kim Do-san|ko|김도산}} and premiered on October 27, 1919, at the historic movie theater Dansungsa.{{Cite book |last=김 |first=은신 |script-title=ko:이것이 한국 최초 |date=1995-11-01 |publisher=삼문 |isbn=9788985407359 |pages=301–303}} It is widely considered the first ever Korean movie,{{Cite web |title=Spring on the Korean Peninsula: Korean Cinema 1934–1962 |url=https://www.arsenal-berlin.de/en/cinema/programm-archive/2019/film-series/spring-on-the-korean-peninsula-korean-cinema-1934-1962/ |access-date=2023-10-08 |website=Arsenal – Institut für Film und Videokunst e.V. |language=en-GB}} including by the South Korean government, although this label is disputed.{{Sfnp|Yecies|2005|p=78}} The film and its script are now considered lost.
The anniversary of its premiere date is now considered Korean Film Day. Just before the premiere of the film, the companion documentary film (used for backdrops in the movie) Panoramic View of the Whole City of Gyeongseong was debuted. This film is sometimes considered the first, although it did not have actors or a plot.
Description
The script was written by Kim Do-san and produced by Park Seong-pil. Kim also acted as the lead character. The story focuses on the character of Song-san, who defends his father's inheritance from his stepmother and other family members.{{Sfnp|Yecies|2005|p=78}} The story has been interpreted as symbolic of Korean independence activism during the Japanese colonial period.
The kino-drama performed well, selling 100,000 tickets. The Maeil Sinbo newspaper wrote that "at the premiere at Dansungsa, people flooded in. They filled the lower and upper floors within seconds. The theater was so packed that no more tickets could be sold". The success of the kino-drama motivated Park to fund the production of more kino-dramas and films.
The kino-drama has been recently been mentioned alongside the landmark 2019 South Korean film Parasite, which was released around the 100th anniversary of the kino-drama.{{Cite web |title=10 Korean films that sent shockwaves across the Croisette |url=https://www.festival-cannes.com/en/cannes-focus/10-korean-films-that-sent-shockwaves-across-the-croisette/ |access-date=2023-10-08 |website=Festival de Cannes |language=en-US}}{{Cite web |last=Salmon |first=Andrew |date=2020-02-10 |title='Parasite' fever grips Hollywood with 4 Oscars |url=http://asiatimes.com/2020/02/parasite-fever-grips-hollywood-with-4-oscars/ |access-date=2023-10-08 |website=Asia Times |language=en-US}}
Debate over first Korean film status
The kino-drama was released on the same day as and after its companion documentary film Panoramic View of the Whole City of Gyeongseong.{{Cite web |last=Park |first=Hye-Young |title=The Age of Motion Pictures |url=https://artsandculture.google.com/story/the-age-of-motion-pictures/aQUxw03xXA4A8A |access-date=2023-10-08 |website=Google Arts & Culture |language=en |agency=Korean Film Archive}} The companion film was created in order to provide supplementary footage for Righteous Revenge. Gyeongseong had shots of various places in Gyeongseong (the name of Seoul at the time), including scenes of Hangang Railway Bridge, Jangchungdan Park, and Seoul Station. Whether Gyeongseong can be considered the first ever film is disputed, as it did not have actors or a plot. It was not intended for significant independent screening, although audiences were still impressed by the film.
The South Korean government considers Righteous Revenge to be the first film.{{Cite web |date=2019-07-03 |title=Korean cinema celebrates 100th year anniversary |url=https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/art/2023/10/689_271680.html |access-date=2023-10-08 |website=The Korea Times |language=en}}{{Cite web |last=Boram |first=Kim |date=2019-04-17 |title=S. Korean movie industry to celebrate centennial in Oct. |url=https://en.yna.co.kr/view/AEN20190417005100315 |access-date=2023-10-08 |website=Yonhap News Agency |language=en}}
Legacy
The release of the kino-drama is now considered Korean Film Day.{{Cite web |last=Boram |first=Kim |date=2019-10-14 |title=Theater Dansungsa reborn as film museum |url=https://en.yna.co.kr/view/AEN20191014002500315 |access-date=2023-10-08 |website=Yonhap News Agency |language=en}}
For its 100th anniversary, a number of celebrations were held. On November 1, 2019, a recreation of the kino-drama was held at Gwanghwamun Plaza in Seoul. It was then shown in the Antonchekov Theater ({{Korean|hangul=안똔체홉극장|labels=no}}) until December 29. A temporary exhibit about the kino-drama and the theater, created in collaboration with the owners of the former building of Dansungsa, was held at the Seoul Museum of History until the following March.{{Cite web |script-title=ko:서울역사박물관, '단성사와 한국영화상영 100주년' 전시 개최 {{!}} 소식·참여 > 알림 > 보도자료 {{!}} 서울역사박물관 |url=https://museum.seoul.go.kr/www/board/NR_boardView.do?bbsCd=1015&seq=20190227101749321&sso=ok |access-date=2023-10-08 |website=museum.seoul.go.kr}}
References
{{Reflist}}
= Sources =
- {{Cite journal |last=Yecies |first=Brian |date=2005 |title=Systematization of Film Censorship in Colonial Korea: Profiteering from Hollywood's First Golden Age, 1926-1936 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/41490209 |journal=The Journal of Korean Studies |volume=10 |issue=1 |pages=59–83 |doi=10.1353/jks.2005.0006 |jstor=41490209 |s2cid=144880907 |issn=0731-1613|url-access=subscription }}