Inside  

1954: The first on-screen kiss
A KISS IS JUST A KISS?

(...)
For a long time it was unthinkable to include a sex scene in a Korean movie. Even a kiss, now seen as something quite innocent, was strictly taboo. Kissing was quite common, and quite popular, with audiences in the foreign movies which were widely shown throughout Korea from the 1920s onwards. Nevertheless, Korean producers and directors dared not follow this lead.
The taboo was broken only after the Korean War by director and producer Han Hyǒng-mo. In 1954, he shot the melodrama Fate’s Hand. This propaganda movie typified the politically charged atmosphere of the day. The film told the story of a group of scheming Communist spies and a noble but naïve army captain who found himself enmeshed in a web of conspiracy and espionage, woven by a seductive beauty. Needless to say, the brave commander ultimately made the right decision and remained aloof from his foes, and the lady, who passed as a cabaret singer, was tragically killed in the final scene…. But the dying seductress gave the captain a lingering farewell kiss.
Neither the heavy use of all the romantic clichés of the day nor this first ever kiss in Korean cinematic history helped the movie much, however Fate’s Hand was to become a commercial failure… 

CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION

1784 : Yi Sang-hun is baptized in Beijing
CHRISTIANITY ARRIVES

1871 : First photographs taken in Korea
THE PHOTOGRAPHIC IMAGES

1881 : The first group of Korean students goes abroad to learn modern technology
THE QUEST FOR KNOWLEDGE

1882 : Telephones imported
ELECTRIC TALK

1883 : Hans?ng sunbo founded
THE NEWS IS OUT

1884 : Rickshaws introduced into Seoul
SEOUL ON WHEELS

1884 : The first phonograph is brought to Korea
THE SOUND OF MUSIC

1885 : The first Western hospital opens in Korea
A DOSE OF WESTERN MEDICINE

1885 : Electric lighting installed in the royal palace
LET THERE BE LIGHTS

1886 : The Ewha School is established
A WOMAN'S PLACE IS AT SCHOOL

1894 : Gentry privileges abolished
THE FALL AND RISE OF THE KOREAN GENTRY

1896 : The western calendar made obligatory
THE NEW ERA

1897 : Independence Gate completed
ARCH OF UNCERTAIN TRIUMPH

1897 : The Hans?ng Bank is founded
OF DONKEYS AND BANKLOANS

1899 : The Seoul-Incheon railway is opened
THE IRON HORSE

1899 : Tram services begin in Seoul
THE ROYAL TRAM

1900 : The first foreign-educated female Korean doctor returns home
THE ESTER PAK STORY

1901 : The first automobile enters Seoul
PEDAL TO THE METAL

1902 : Ms. Sontag's hotel opens in Seoul
OF HOTELS AND COFFEE SHOPS

The 1900s : Western-style spectacles win popularity
LOOKING BACK AT EYEGLASSES!

1903 : Korean migrants arrive in the US
COMING TO AMERICA

1905 : The Tongdaemun Market opens
GREAT MARKETS

1907 : The Korean Crown Prince leaves for Japan
A RIGHT ROYAL TIME

1908 : Korean opera or ch'angg?k is born
THEATER STEPS INTO THE LIMELIGHT

1908 : Seoul acquires a modern water supply
MODERNITY ON TAP

1911 : First census held
BUSY BODIES

1912 : Taxi service established
HAILING A CAB

1915 : Traffic rules introduced
RIGHT IS RIGHT?

1917 : The Indogyo Bridge completed
CROSSING THE RIVER

1921 : The last tiger killed in South Korea
THE DEMISE OF THE MIGHTY BEAST

1921 : State monopoly on tobacco introduced
PIPES IN A SMOKER'S PARADISE

1922 : An Ch'ang-nam's demonstration flights over Yo?ido Island
TALES OF AN OLD AIRPORT

1922 : Women granted permission to teach in primary schools
WOMEN OBTAIN PAID WORK

1920s : The practice of early marriage declines
TODDLER BRIDES

1924 : First public bathhouse opens
THE CHANCE TO BATHE

1920s : Study in Japan booms
A TRAINING GROUND FOR REVOLUTIONARIES

1925 : Kwon Ki-?k graduates from the Chinese Air Force Academy
PIONEERING FEMALE AVIATORS

1925 : New Seoul railway station built
AN HISTORIC LANDMARK

1925 : The Grill opens at the Seoul railway station
LEARNING TO EAT OUT

1926 : Singer Yun Sim-d?k commits suicide
THE TRAGIC SINGER

1926 : Arirang becomes the first ever Korean blockbuster
THE LONG ROAD FROM ARIRANG

1920s : "New women" bring trouble to traditional families
MAN AND WIFE AND A CONCUBINE TOO

1927 : JODK begins radio broadcasts from Seoul
RADIO MAKES WAVES

1928 : Seoul acquires a regular bus service
"ORAI!" TAKE OFF!

1920s : Courtesans lose their prominence
KISAENG GOODBYE TO THE PAST

1935 : Christians oppose obligatory Emperor Worship
A NEW GOD

1936 : Son Ki-ch?ng wins a gold medal in the Olympic marathon
LONG DISTANCE HERO

1930s : The decline in the tradition of mock-kidnapping widows
PLAYING POSSAM TO GET A WIFE

1937 : Hwasin Department Store opens its new premises
TEMPLES OF CONSUMPTION

1939 : The Governor General moves into a new residence
HOUSE WITH A BLUE ROOF

1946 : Seoul National University established
SEAT OF LEARNING

1948 : The Republic of Korea (or Taehan Minguk) officially proclaimed in Seoul
IN THE NAME OF....

1948 : Prostitution outlawed
RED LIGHTS CONTINUE TO SHINE

1948 : Official recognition for the Korean anthem
AUTHOR UNKNOWN

1948 : The Republic of China and Seoul establish diplomatic relations
RISE AND FALL OF THE CHINESE COMMUNITY

1950 : "Ch'ils?ng Saida" begins production in Seoul
MIXING ONE'S DRINKS

1950 : Bank of Korea introduces new Korean banknotes
PAPER CAPERS

1952 : Kia begins producing bicycles
BIKES LOSE THEIR BUZZ

1950s : Large quantities of US wheat shipped to Korea
BREAD ARRIVES

1954 : The first on-screen kiss
A KISS IS JUST A KISS?

1954 : A KNA plane departs for Taibei
FLYING HIGH

1955 : American families adopt Korean babies
INTERNATIONAL ADOPTION BEGINS

1950s and 1960s : A modern outlook on 'connections'
CLIMBING THE LADDER

1955 : Automobile production begins in Korea
WHEELS FOR KOREA AND THE WORLD

1957 : Publication sponsors first nationwide beauty contest
BEAUTY VS. BEAUTY

1950s : Turks establish mosques in Korea
ISLAM TAKES ROOT

1961 : Korean Family Planning Association is founded
'3-3-35' A MOST DESIRABLE FIGURE

1962 : Motion Picture Law adopted
FROM MELODRAMA TO THE SECOND GOLDEN AGE

1964 : Foreign trade volume reaches $100 million
EXPORT OR PERISH

1960s : The growth of deep-sea fishing
SOMETHING FISHY

1964 : The Map'o flats completed
APARTMENTS AND MORE APARTMENTS

1960s : the growth of milk consumption
MILK BY THE GLASS

1965 : LG begins production of refrigerators
FRIDGES FOR ALL

1967 : The Korean government procures computers from the US and Japan
COMPUTING POWER PROGRESS

1968 : POSCO Steel is founded
STEELING UP FOR SUCCESS

1969 : Middle and high school entrance examinations abolished
ONE HELL ELIMINATED

1969 : First high-rise building constructed
CREATING THE SEOUL SKYLINE

1970s : New heating systems introduced
FLOORSHOW

1970 : Seoul-Pusan expressway opens to traffic
EXPRESSWAYS FOR OXCARTS?

1970s : the era of Japanese tourism
TOURISM TAKES OFF

1970 : Chongno bookstore opens
BOOKSTORES GO UP-MARKET

1970s : Policy to reduce food consumption is introduced
HAVING YOUR (RICE) CAKE AND EATING IT TOO

1977 : Coffee vending machines introduced in Seoul
THE COFFEE GROUNDS

1978 : First nuclear power plant switched on
GETTING ENERGETIC WITH NUCLEAR POWER

mid-1970s : Campaign against long hair launched
OBLIGATORY HAIRCUT

1970-80s: Arranged marriages slide in popularity but survive
ON LOVE AND MATCHMAKING

1980 : Seoul's population reaches 10 million
SEOUL IS THE SOUL

1982 : Night curfew lifted
LIGHTS OFF, LIGHTS ON

1984 : Commercial mobile phone network is introduced
A POPULATION ALWAYS IN TOUCH

1985 : First known case of AIDS involving a Korean
BATTLING THE SCOURGE

1980s : Steady decline in rice consumption
RICE FALLS BY THE WAYSIDE

1988 : Seoul Olympics
CLIMBING MT. OLYMPUS

1989 : The frequency of traffic incidents reaches its peak
AS MUCH AS THE TRAFFIC WILL BEAR

1990s : The fertility rate nose-dives
AGING GRACEFULLY?

1994 : Legislation against pre-natal sex-determination introduced
GIRLS VS BOYS

1990s : Perception of Korean sex culture redefined dramatically
NO SEX PLEASE, WE ARE KOREANS

1990s : Foreign workers arrive in increasing numbers
A DIVISION OF LABOUR

LITERATURE

INDEX