The Intimate Violence of South Korean and Japanese Cinema

This book provides an in-depth analysis of the origins and impact of violent South Korean and Japanese cinema from the late 1990s onward, exploring how South Korean filmmakers were inspired by Japanese counterparts, reflecting shared economic struggles of the 1990s and early 2000s.

Through the concept of “intimate violence,” this book provides a critical account of violence as a means of mediating social relations and articulating the transformations of neoliberal modernity. It offers a detailed analysis of the simulated acts of violence, with particular attention to mise-en-scène, and explores their broader political and philosophical implications. This volume critiques the ubiquity of violence in commercial media and its role in shaping neoliberal sociality and personhood.

The Intimate Violence of South Korean and Japanese Cinema is essential reading for students and scholars of East Asian cinema, film and media studies, cultural studies, and political economy, as well as general readers interested in the topic.