{"id":27205,"date":"2026-05-13T16:44:59","date_gmt":"2026-05-13T07:44:59","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/mhjn.dothome.co.kr\/?p=27205"},"modified":"2026-05-13T16:44:59","modified_gmt":"2026-05-13T07:44:59","slug":"colonial-era-korean-cinema-kim-won-bo-and-the-visual-structure-of-korean-martial-body-culture-a-comparative-study-of-nongjungjo-1926-and-subak-related-materials","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mhjn.dothome.co.kr\/en\/colonial-era-korean-cinema-kim-won-bo-and-the-visual-structure-of-korean-martial-body-culture-a-comparative-study-of-nongjungjo-1926-and-subak-related-materials\/","title":{"rendered":"Colonial-Era Korean Cinema, Kim Won-bo, and the Visual Structure of Korean Martial Body Culture: A Comparative Study of Nongjungjo (1926) and Subak-Related Materials"},"content":{"rendered":"<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/mhjn.dothome.co.kr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/\ub18d\uc911\uc870\uaca9\ud22c\uc7a5\uba74.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-27206\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Source: Korean Movie Datebase<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Abstract<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">This study examines possible relationships between colonial-era Korean cinema, anti-colonial historical networks, and Korean martial body culture through comparative analysis of the 1926 film <em>Nongjungjo<\/em>, directed by Lee Gyu-seol, and visual materials associated with Kim Won-bo.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Particular attention is given to a fighting scene in <em>Nongjungjo<\/em> depicting close-range combat mechanics involving frontal body control, upper-body destabilization, and rear-hand striking motions. These structures are compared with movement characteristics documented in later Subak-related materials associated with Kim Won-bo and subsequent Korean martial transmission traditions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The study does not argue that the film directly depicts \u201cSubak\u201d in a formal or definitive sense. Rather, it proposes that the film may preserve visual evidence of broader Korean understandings of close-range fighting, body manipulation, and combat movement during the Japanese colonial era.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Additionally, the paper explores the historical relationship between Kim Won-bo, film director Lee Gyu-seol, and nationalist filmmaker Na Woon-gyu, arguing that colonial-era Korean cinema and martial body culture may have existed within overlapping anti-colonial cultural networks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Keywords: Subak, Kim Won-bo, Na Woon-gyu, Lee Gyu-seol, colonial Korea, Korean cinema, martial body culture, anti-colonial movement, Korean martial arts, visual anthropology<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h1 class=\"wp-block-heading\">1. Introduction<\/h1>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The study of Korean martial traditions during the Japanese colonial era has often focused on military resistance, oral transmission, or postwar reconstruction. Comparatively little attention has been given to colonial-era Korean cinema as a possible visual archive of Korean body culture and combat perception.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">This paper examines a combat scene from the 1926 Korean film <em>Nongjungjo<\/em>, directed by Lee Gyu-seol and featuring Na Woon-gyu, one of the most influential figures in early Korean nationalist cinema.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The analysis compares the fighting structures depicted in the film with movement characteristics documented in Kim Won-bo-related Subak materials and later Korean martial transmission traditions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Rather than claiming direct equivalence between cinematic representation and formal martial systems, this study argues that colonial-era Korean film may preserve valuable evidence concerning how Koreans of the period visually understood close-range combat and body mechanics.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h1 class=\"wp-block-heading\">2. Historical Context: Kim Won-bo, Na Woon-gyu, and Lee Gyu-seol<\/h1>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Kim Won-bo participated in the 1919 Korean independence movement and reportedly served a prison sentence during the Japanese colonial period.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Na Woon-gyu, director of the landmark nationalist film <em>Arirang<\/em> (1926), was likewise associated with anti-colonial activity and reportedly fled Japanese police surveillance connected to independence-related suspicion during the same historical period.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Lee Gyu-seol, director of <em>Nongjungjo<\/em>, worked within the colonial Korean film industry environment associated with Busan Kinema and overlapping cinematic circles connected to Na Woon-gyu.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Later visual documentation associated with Kim Won-bo was reportedly filmed by Lee Gyu-seol.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Although direct organizational or personal collaboration between these figures cannot presently be conclusively established, the historical overlap suggests that anti-colonial activism, Korean cinema, and martial body culture may have existed within interconnected cultural environments during the colonial era.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h1 class=\"wp-block-heading\">3. Analysis of the <em>Nongjungjo<\/em> Fighting Scene<\/h1>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">3.1 Structural Characteristics<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A surviving image from <em>Nongjungjo<\/em> depicts two individuals engaged in close-range combat.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The scene includes several notable movement structures:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>frontal upper-body engagement<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>one-handed control of the opponent\u2019s head or collar area<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>simultaneous preparation for rear-hand striking<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>rotational body positioning<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>compressed fighting distance<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>forward body pressure<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">These characteristics suggest a practical close-range combat structure rather than a stylized long-distance striking exchange.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">3.2 Comparison with Kim Won-bo-Related Subak Materials<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Movement patterns documented in Kim Won-bo-related Subak materials include:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>front-hand interception and control<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>upper-body destabilization<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>pushing mechanics<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>rotational force usage<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>follow-up striking actions<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>close-range body pressure<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The structural similarities between these materials and the <em>Nongjungjo<\/em> scene are visually notable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Particularly significant is the apparent combination of:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>one-arm opponent control<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>simultaneous rear-hand striking preparation<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">This movement structure resembles tactical patterns preserved within later Subak transmission traditions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">However, the present study does not claim that the <em>Nongjungjo<\/em> scene directly depicts formal \u201cSubak\u201d training.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Rather, the similarities may indicate broader continuity within Korean combat movement culture and colonial-era perceptions of practical fighting mechanics.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h1 class=\"wp-block-heading\">4. Colonial Korean Cinema as Martial Body Archive<\/h1>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">One of the most important implications of this study is the possibility that colonial-era Korean cinema may preserve visual traces of Korean martial body culture.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">During the 1920s, Korean cinema had not yet fully adopted modern choreographed combat systems derived from later commercial action cinema traditions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">As a result, early Korean film representations of fighting may have reflected:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>contemporary street-fighting perceptions<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>folk combat traditions<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>practical body mechanics<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>local physical culture concepts<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The <em>Nongjungjo<\/em> scene therefore possesses potential value not merely as cinematic performance, but as evidence of colonial-era Korean understandings of combat posture, body control, and striking structure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h1 class=\"wp-block-heading\">5. Martial Body Culture and Anti-Colonial Context<\/h1>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The relationship between anti-colonial experience and martial body culture constitutes another important dimension of this study.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Kim Won-bo and Na Woon-gyu belonged to the same historical generation shaped by:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Japanese colonial repression<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>nationalist resistance<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>imprisonment and surveillance<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>cultural survival movements<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Within such an environment, physical culture, cinematic representation, and nationalist consciousness may have intersected more closely than previously recognized.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The surviving visual materials associated with Kim Won-bo and colonial Korean cinema may therefore be interpreted as part of a broader anti-colonial Korean body culture archive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h1 class=\"wp-block-heading\">6. Comparative Research Potential<\/h1>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The comparison between <em>Nongjungjo<\/em> and Kim Won-bo-related materials suggests broader possibilities for interdisciplinary research involving:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>colonial-era Korean cinema<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>martial movement analysis<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>visual anthropology<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>oral testimony<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>traditional Korean combat systems<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>anti-colonial cultural history<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Future comparative study involving:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Kim Won-bo footage<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Joseon Uiyongdae training materials<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>colonial-era Korean wrestling footage<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>early Korean films<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>surviving Subak traditions<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">may contribute significantly to reconstruction of Korean martial body culture during the early twentieth century.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h1 class=\"wp-block-heading\">7. Conclusion<\/h1>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The 1926 film <em>Nongjungjo<\/em> and Kim Won-bo-related Subak materials present meaningful structural similarities in their depiction of close-range combat mechanics.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Although definitive identification of the film scene as \u201cSubak\u201d cannot presently be established, the visual comparison suggests the existence of recurring Korean combat movement structures during the colonial period.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The historical overlap between Kim Won-bo, Na Woon-gyu, and Lee Gyu-seol further indicates that anti-colonial activism, early Korean cinema, and martial body culture may have existed within interconnected cultural networks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">This study argues that colonial-era Korean cinema should be considered an important visual source for the study of Korean martial body culture, physical movement systems, and anti-colonial cultural history.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Source: Korean Movie Datebase Abstract This study examines possible relationships between colonial-era Korean cinema, anti-colonial historical networks, and Korean martial body culture through comparative analysis of the 1926 film Nongjungjo, directed by Lee Gyu-seol, and visual materials associated with Kim Won-bo. Particular attention is given to a fighting scene in Nongjungjo depicting close-range combat mechanics [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":27206,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[26],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-27205","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-global-heritage-archive"],"blog_post_layout_featured_media_urls":{"thumbnail":"","full":""},"categories_names":{"26":{"name":"Global Heritage Archive","link":"https:\/\/mhjn.dothome.co.kr\/en\/category\/global-heritage-archive\/"}},"tags_names":[],"comments_number":"0","wpmagazine_modules_lite_featured_media_urls":{"thumbnail":"","cvmm-medium":"","cvmm-medium-plus":"","cvmm-portrait":"","cvmm-medium-square":"","cvmm-large":"","cvmm-small":"","full":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mhjn.dothome.co.kr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27205","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mhjn.dothome.co.kr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mhjn.dothome.co.kr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mhjn.dothome.co.kr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mhjn.dothome.co.kr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=27205"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/mhjn.dothome.co.kr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27205\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mhjn.dothome.co.kr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=27205"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mhjn.dothome.co.kr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=27205"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mhjn.dothome.co.kr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=27205"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}