From Silent-Era Korean Combat to Postwar Judo Cinema: Transformation of Martial Representation in Korean Film (1920s–1956)

1920 (Exact year of filming unknown)

Abstract

This paper examines the transformation of combat representation in Korean cinema from the Japanese colonial era to post–Korean War South Korea through comparative analysis of fight scenes appearing in early Korean films and the 1956 film Holiday in Seoul (서울의 휴일). Particular attention is given to the contrast between the combat methods associated with the 1920s footage connected to Kim Won-bo, the fighting depictions in the 1926 film Nongjungjo, the 1934 film Crossroads of Youth, and the distinctly different martial aesthetics visible in postwar Korean cinema. The study argues that Korean film fight choreography after the Korean War increasingly reflected the influence of Japanese Judo, Karate, and Western boxing, while earlier silent-era Korean fighting scenes preserved traces of indigenous Korean bodily culture and movement traditions. Cinema is treated not merely as entertainment, but as a historical archive reflecting shifts in colonialism, modernization, military occupation, and cultural transformation.

Introduction

Film preserves more than stories; it records the physical culture of its age. Speech patterns, clothing, architecture, gestures, and bodily movement appearing in cinema often reveal deeper cultural transformations within society.

1926 Nongjungjo

This study focuses on Korean film combat scenes as historical evidence of changing martial culture. By comparing combat depictions from Korean silent-era films of the 1920s and 1930s with fight scenes from the 1956 film Holiday in Seoul, this paper explores how Korean cinematic combat changed from indigenous and hybridized forms into movements strongly influenced by Japanese and Western martial systems after the Korean War.

A particularly important point is the participation of actor Park Sun-bong, who had reportedly appeared as Kim Won-bo’s combat counterpart in footage directed by Yi Gyu-seol during the 1920s. Although Park Sun-bong appeared in Holiday in Seoul, he did not perform the film’s principal combat scenes. Nevertheless, comparison between the earlier footage associated with Kim Won-bo and the later 1956 fight choreography reveals a significant transformation in Korean cinematic martial expression.

Combat Representation in Colonial-Era Korean Cinema
2.1 Silent-Era Korean Physical Expression

The fight movements visible in Korean silent-era cinema differ substantially from postwar choreography. In materials connected.

Similarly, the 1934 film Nongjungjo and the 1936 film Crossroads of Youth display combat motions that appear less institutionalized than later postwar martial scenes. These movements often emphasize:

grabbing and pulling,
irregular footwork,
whole-body momentum,
spontaneous grappling,
folk-style striking patterns.

These characteristics resemble indigenous Korean physical culture traditions rather than modern Japanese budō systems.

Postwar Korean Cinema and the Rise of Judo-Based Action
3.1 Holiday in Seoul (1956) as Historical Evidence

The 1956 Korean film Holiday in Seoul demonstrates a noticeably different combat structure. In outdoor fight scenes between the reporter character and criminal characters, the choreography prominently includes techniques recognizable as Japanese Judo.

Examples include:

Arm throwing technique,
Tomoe nage = circle throw,
neck-wrapping throws,
grappling transitions,
choking techniques applied on the ground.

The film also contains moments influenced by Western boxing, including upright punching exchanges and guard-oriented striking.

These techniques differ sharply from the combat patterns visible in earlier Korean silent-era films.

Historical Interpretation
4.1 Cinema as Reflection of Political Transformation

The shift in combat style reflects broader historical changes affecting Korean society.

During the Japanese colonial period, Korean martial culture existed under pressure from Japanese cultural systems but still retained indigenous bodily traditions within rural and folk contexts.

After liberation and especially following the Korean War, South Korea underwent rapid military restructuring under strong American and Japanese influence.

As cinema reflects dominant social institutions, Korean films of the 1950s increasingly reproduced Japanese and Western combat systems rather than older Korean folk combat traditions.

Kim Won-bo Footage and the Importance of Early Korean Martial Archives

The footage associated with Kim Won-bo possesses unusual historical value because it may preserve visual evidence of Korean combat expression prior to the standardization of Japanese and Western martial systems in postwar Korea.

This makes such footage important not only for film history but also for the study of Korean traditional martial culture, indigenous movement systems, and intangible cultural heritage.

The comparison between:

1920s Kim Won-bo-related footage,
1930s Korean silent and early sound films,
and postwar films such as Holiday in Seoul

demonstrates that cinematic combat evolved alongside Korea’s political and cultural transformations.

Conclusion

Korean film combat scenes should be understood as historical documents of changing physical culture.

The contrast between colonial-era Korean films and postwar Korean cinema suggests a clear transition from indigenous or folk-influenced bodily expression toward Japanese Judo-centered and Westernized action choreography after the Korean War.

This transformation reflects broader processes of colonialism, modernization, militarization, and globalization within Korean society.

Early Korean combat footage associated with figures such as Kim Won-bo therefore deserves serious scholarly attention as a rare visual archive of pre-standardized Korean martial expression.

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From Silent-Era Korean Combat to Postwar Judo Cinema: Transformation of Martial Representation in Korean Film (1920s–1956)