I Am a Truck

director: Kim Ki-young

original title: I Am a Truck

country: Republic of Korea (South Korea)

year: 1953

running time: 18 min.

synopsis

The clip, one of twenty news clips that Kim made for the American Information Service shortly after the end of the Korean War, tells the story of a car. The vehicle speaks in a continuous monologue to the audience as it follows the process of its demise and rebirth. The components move from the junkyard to the car factory, where they are transformed into the metal interior of a new vehicle. We are not just following the story of the car, but that of the entire country as it recovers from the war and builds a new economy, led by businesses like Hyundai, a symbol of prosperity and national pride.

“How will humanity make enough for three meals a day out of post-war poverty?”Kim Ki-young

biography

Kim Ki-young (1919-1998) is considered one of the most important figures in Korean cinema. His almost forty-year career includes both feature films and documentaries. He made the first Korean film with synchronous sound The Box of Death (1955). His film The Housemaid (1960) is considered the best Korean film of all time.

more about film

director:

Kim Ki-young

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