''Haebang News'' (; alternately or ) was the first South Korean newsreel, which ran between 1945 and 1947. It consisted of 14 episodes (including several special episodes) that were around 9 minutes each. The series was produced by the Chosŏn Film Company, which also produced the ''
Korean News
''Korean News'' () was a South Korean government news program that was displayed in movie theaters between 1953 and 1994. Its 2040th program, which aired on December 31, 1994, was its last one.
The program went by a number of names over its his ...
'' newsreel.
, copies of four of these episodes are known to exist. All four were produced in the second half of 1946. They were discovered in 2005, in the collection of the in Japan. They have since been digitized by the Korean Film Archive, and are freely available for viewing on the Korean Movie Database. A 1947 Japanese film, ''Go to Liberated Korea'', contains some lost footage assumed to be from ''Haebang News'', and was discovered in 2007.
History
On August 16, when news first reached the general public of Korea's liberation from Japanese colonial rule, members of the Chosŏn Film Company quickly broke into a storage building that contained cameras and went to record the jubilant celebrations outside. One of their reporters was also in Pyongyang on August 24, and filmed the arrival of the Soviets and the beginning of their occupation of the North. A few weeks later, the United States Army Military Government in Korea (USAMGIK) began its occupation of the southern half of the peninsula. The company received permission on September 24 to began producing a news program. On October 21, they premiered two episodes of the program, alongside two special episodes. They fimed notable Korean politician
Kim Ku
Kim Gu (, ; August 29, 1876 – June 26, 1949), also known by his pen name Baekbeom (백범; ), was a Korean statesman. He was the sixth, ninth, and president of the Provisional Government of the Republic of Korea; a leader of the Korean indepen ...
's return to Korea in late November 1945.
Episodes could only be aired after passing the censors of the USAMGIK, and are thus considered by recent scholars to follow the official opinions of the military government.
''Go to Liberated Korea''
Content from several of ''Haebang News's'' early episodes, which are now considered lost, was recompiled into a 1947 documentary film called . The film was created by the People's FIlm Company and is currently held by the North Korea-aligned organization for
Koreans in Japan
comprise ethnic Koreans who have permanent residency status in Japan or who have become Japanese citizens, and whose immigration to Japan originated before 1945, or who are descendants of those immigrants. They are a group distinct from South ...
,
Chongryon
The General Association of Korean Residents in Japan, " ''
. The film was rediscovered by researchers in the 2000s, and released by the South Korean National Archives to the general public on August 9, 2007.
See also
* '' Korean Newsreel'': a North Korean newsreel produced beginning in 1948
* ''
Our Construction
''Our Construction'' () is a 1946 North Korean documentary. It is widely considered to be the first North Korean film, and predates the 1949 '' My Home Village'', which was the first feature film in the country. It is a silent and black-and-w ...
'': the first North Korean film, also a newsreel, produced in July 1946
* Division of Korea
*
Cinema of South Korea
The cinema of South Korea refers to the film industry of South Korea from 1945 to present. South Korean films have been heavily influenced by such events and forces as the Japanese occupation of Korea, the Korean War, government censorship, t ...