(Suggestion) The Fighting Structure and Physical Culture Perception of Koreans in the Colony?
Feature Film Republic of Korea
1926-06-19 (Release)
Production Company: Joseon Kinema Production
Director: Lee Gyu-seol
Cast: Lee Gyu-seol, Bok Hye-sook, Na Un-gyu, Park Je-haeng
https://reddit.com/link/1tbqlso/video/g87ckzywbu0h1/player
Beginning of video - Song Chang-ryeol (born 1932, filmed to collect data for academic papers with the support of Jincheon-gun, Chungcheongbuk-do; winner of the Korea Sport & Olympic Committee Research Award in 2006), End of video - Scenes of Kim Won-bo's battle in the 1920s
The three visual materials presented by the author share the following characteristics: 1) they were born and active during a similar period (the Japanese colonial era), and 2) their birthplaces or areas of activity overlap (Song Chang-ryeol and Kim Won-bo belonged to the same cultural sphere, located in Gaeseong and Seohung-gun, Hwanghae-do). Director Lee Gyu-seol, who filmed Kim Won-bo, directed the film *Nongjungjo* (The Farmer) mentioned in Material 1, and the lead role was played by Na Un-gyu, the godfather of Korean national cinema; these two men worked together at Busan Kinema Film Company, the first film company in Joseon. Furthermore, due to the March 1st Movement of 1919, one of them (Na Un-gyu) fled to Manchuria, while Kim Won-bo served a prison sentence at the hands of the Japanese. Later, Lee Gyu-seol, who worked at the same company as Na Un-gyu during the same period, documented Subak, a Korean physical culture, through Kim Won-bo in a film supported by the Japanese Government-General for the purpose of fostering exchange among Koreans.
Integrating these three elements, it can be explained not merely as a "fight scene from an old movie," but as a structure where the anti-Japanese generation of colonial Joseon, early film culture, perceptions of the body and combat, and Subak materials of the Kim Won-bo lineage intersect.
The key point is:
It is not that they are "directly identical,"
but rather the "possibility that the combat structure and physical culture perceptions of contemporary Joseon people were reflected."
- Historical Connection Structure
A. Common Experiences of the 1919 Generation
Na Woon-gyu:
Suspected of involvement in the independence movement in 1919
Moving to escape pursuit by Japanese police
Subsequently engaged in nationalist film activities
Kim Won-bo:
Participation in the 1919 Manse Movement
Serving a prison sentence
Subsequently, video traces related to physical training and Subak
In other words:
Both individuals share a common foundation as:
The anti-Japanese generation of colonial Joseon.
B. Lee Gyu-seol's Connection
Lee Gyu-seol:
Activities within the Busan Kinema Film Company network
A film environment similar to Na Un-gyu
Later connection to filming footage related to Kim Won-bo
In other words:
He appears to play a mediating role between the anti-Japanese generation, film culture, and records of physical culture.
This is not simply:
a connection between "filmmakers" and "martial artists,"
but rather demonstrates the possibility that within the cultural sphere of colonial Joseon:
film nationalism,
physical culture, and the perception of combat were not separated from one another.
- Analysis of Nongjungjo Scenes
Looking at the Nongjungjo scenes:
Controlling the opponent's upper body and head with one hand
Preparing to strike with the other hand
Close-range pressure
Body twisting
Advancing pressure
A structure emerges.
Why is this important?
In the Kim Won-bo materials as well:
Lead hand control
Arm hook
Hand slap
Shove
Subsequent strikes
Are repeated.
In other words:
Structural similarities are observed. 3. Why This Comparison Is Significant
This film was:
1926
Directed by a Korean
Featuring Korean actors
Aimed at a Korean audience
In other words:
It is possible that it reflected the “image of fighting” as understood by Koreans at the time.
Characteristics of the Era
Korean films of the 1920s:
Lacked a modern system of action choreography
And the formulas of Japanese martial arts films had not yet fully taken root.
Therefore:
Actual street fighting
Folk martial arts
Lifestyle physical culture
Are more likely to be directly reflected.
This is why it is connected to Kim Won-bo
Kim Won-bo's materials also:
Possess a structure of contact, practical combat, and upper body compression
rather than formal forms.
In other words:
It can be viewed as belonging to a common cultural sphere regarding the “perception of practical combat by colonial Koreans.”
- Physical Culture of Colonial Korea
A comparable data set demonstrating the structure of the perception of combat and physical culture among colonial Koreans
