MODERNITY OF UNDERDEVELOPMENT AND POLITICS OF THE SUBLIME : READING SIN SANGOK’S FILM SANGNOKSU

Released in 1961, Sin Sangok’s film Sangnoksu (Evergreen tree) is an important example of an artistic work that was both directly and indirectly employed as an instrument of the rural modernization policies and the underlying ideological objectives of the Pak Chŏnghŭi regime. The film reveals the subtle and complex interrelationship between the (popular) art and politics of the 1960s. As the negotiation between authority and consensus characterizes the direction of the modernization of Korean society during the 1960s, this article argues that Sangnoksu served as the emotional medium that bridged the gap. In addition, it also illuminates how the film as a form of popular art is associated with the construction of mentalité toward Korea’s modernization. This article seeks to identify implicit aesthetic principles to discuss the political signification of the film in Korean society during the 1960s and its function as an allegory to provide logical appeals and emotional assurance.