In his lengthy career as a critic, writer and documentarian Hubert Niogret has expounded on Asian and European cinema extensively. He now turns his camera toward Korea. Korean cinema is one of the current darlings on the international film scene, but it didn′t happen overnight. The new wave was born from a cinematic history as varied, dense and complex as the country′s own. The cycles of crisis, rebirth, reinvention and eclipse mirror the nation′s socio political cycles and give the national cinema an identity rare in much modern film. Korean cinema is travelling better than it ever has in the past, but it is still an art form by Koreans for Koreans. Notable is the distinctiveness of cinema from the North and South-one dominated by propaganda, the other struggling with domination by Hollywood. Niogret explores the myriad influences and trends that define Korean cinema and provides viewers with a brief but thorough overview of the cinema that still holds a degree of mystery for many.