@article{ART003197406},
author={Jeong, Ye-In},
title={Adapted Imports: A Study on the Local Specificity of Early 1960s Korean Crime Films ―Focusing on the Film Geuphaeng-yeolcha-reul tara(Get on the Express Train, 1963)},
journal={The Journal of Korean drama and theatre},
issn={1225-7729},
year={2025},
number={84},
pages={11-55},
doi={10.17938/tjkdat.2025..84.11}
TY - JOUR
AU - Jeong, Ye-In
TI - Adapted Imports: A Study on the Local Specificity of Early 1960s Korean Crime Films ―Focusing on the Film Geuphaeng-yeolcha-reul tara(Get on the Express Train, 1963)
JO - The Journal of Korean drama and theatre
PY - 2025
VL - null
IS - 84
PB - The Learned Society Of Korean Drama And Theatre
SP - 11
EP - 55
SN - 1225-7729
AB - Tracing the process by which a particular genre takes root in a specific region and resonates with the public can open new perspectives on the cultural landscape of the time. In this regard, this study examines the local specificity of Korean crime films produced between the late 1950s and early 1960s by analyzing the contexts in which Get on the Express Train(1963), directed by Kim Muk, was produced, distributed, screened, and adapted, in conjunction with the Korean film industry and the political and social circumstances of the period.
Korean crime films of this era assimilated genre conventions such as gangster films, film noir, and thrillers from Hollywood, as well as from French and British crime films, which had been imported in large numbers in the late 1950s. At the same time, these films shared crime narratives popularized through radio dramas and literature while contending with state censorship, which was particularly sensitive to the depiction of crime due to concerns about copycat crime.
Despite legal constraints, crime films were actively produced as they were recognized as a genre that embodied modernity in the formative years of Korea’s national cinema. However, the adaptation process of Get on the Express Train reveals the regional context that hindered the development of crime films as a modern genre in Korea. This film, known for plagiarizing Kurosawa Akira’s High and Low(1963), differs from its Japanese counterpart in its portrayal of an internal enemy and its foregrounding of a weeping male protagonist. These elements are closely linked to the dominant ideologies of the time, namely, the anticommunism that was proclaimed as a national doctrine after the May 16 coup and the patriarchal system that functioned as a key ideology in the reconstruction of the nation-state. This study thus argues for an interpretation of Korean crime films not as mere Western imports but as a genre shaped by local specificities.
KW - Akira Kurosawa;crime film;Ed McBain;genre film;Get on the Express Train;High and Low;Kim Muk;King’s Ransom;locality
DO - 10.17938/tjkdat.2025..84.11
ER -
Jeong, Ye-In. (2025). Adapted Imports: A Study on the Local Specificity of Early 1960s Korean Crime Films ―Focusing on the Film Geuphaeng-yeolcha-reul tara(Get on the Express Train, 1963). The Journal of Korean drama and theatre, 84, 11-55.
Jeong, Ye-In. 2025, "Adapted Imports: A Study on the Local Specificity of Early 1960s Korean Crime Films ―Focusing on the Film Geuphaeng-yeolcha-reul tara(Get on the Express Train, 1963)", The Journal of Korean drama and theatre, no.84, pp.11-55. Available from: doi:10.17938/tjkdat.2025..84.11
Jeong, Ye-In "Adapted Imports: A Study on the Local Specificity of Early 1960s Korean Crime Films ―Focusing on the Film Geuphaeng-yeolcha-reul tara(Get on the Express Train, 1963)" The Journal of Korean drama and theatre 84 pp.11-55 (2025) : 11.
Jeong, Ye-In. Adapted Imports: A Study on the Local Specificity of Early 1960s Korean Crime Films ―Focusing on the Film Geuphaeng-yeolcha-reul tara(Get on the Express Train, 1963). 2025; 84 : 11-55. Available from: doi:10.17938/tjkdat.2025..84.11
Jeong, Ye-In. "Adapted Imports: A Study on the Local Specificity of Early 1960s Korean Crime Films ―Focusing on the Film Geuphaeng-yeolcha-reul tara(Get on the Express Train, 1963)" The Journal of Korean drama and theatre no.84(2025) : 11-55.doi: 10.17938/tjkdat.2025..84.11
Jeong, Ye-In. Adapted Imports: A Study on the Local Specificity of Early 1960s Korean Crime Films ―Focusing on the Film Geuphaeng-yeolcha-reul tara(Get on the Express Train, 1963). The Journal of Korean drama and theatre, 84, 11-55. doi: 10.17938/tjkdat.2025..84.11
Jeong, Ye-In. Adapted Imports: A Study on the Local Specificity of Early 1960s Korean Crime Films ―Focusing on the Film Geuphaeng-yeolcha-reul tara(Get on the Express Train, 1963). The Journal of Korean drama and theatre. 2025; 84 11-55. doi: 10.17938/tjkdat.2025..84.11
Jeong, Ye-In. Adapted Imports: A Study on the Local Specificity of Early 1960s Korean Crime Films ―Focusing on the Film Geuphaeng-yeolcha-reul tara(Get on the Express Train, 1963). 2025; 84 : 11-55. Available from: doi:10.17938/tjkdat.2025..84.11
Jeong, Ye-In. "Adapted Imports: A Study on the Local Specificity of Early 1960s Korean Crime Films ―Focusing on the Film Geuphaeng-yeolcha-reul tara(Get on the Express Train, 1963)" The Journal of Korean drama and theatre no.84(2025) : 11-55.doi: 10.17938/tjkdat.2025..84.11
