Cold War Cosmopolitanism

"A clearly written and forcefully argued study of the interplay between the transnational forces of the Cold War and the local cultural formation of South Korean cinema. Through astute analysis of film director Han Hyung-mo’s postwar works with concepts drawn from art history, material culture studies, and cultural studies, Klein brings to light the overlooked importance of the 1950s in Korea’s encounter with the Korean War and modernization and their complex linkage to the cultural developments of Free Asia. This book belongs on the bookshelf of everyone interested in the Cold War culture of Asia."—Poshek Fu, author of Between Shanghai and Hong Kong: The Politics of Chinese Cinemas

"Klein shines a brilliant klieg light on the still largely unknown South Korean classic films of the 1950s by placing them in a global context of Cold War culture and politics. This is an original and engaging study with broad scholarly and popular appeal."—Carter J. Eckert, author of Park Chung Hee and Modern Korea

"Although following Han Hyung-mo’s corpus of works, Cold War Cosmopolitanism is not a traditional auteur study. Christina Klein uses Han's career and female characters as a discursive springboard to chart out both historical and theoretical trajectories of the formation of Cold War cosmopolitanism in 1950s Korea under US hegemony⁠—a unique contribution to multiple fields."—Hye Seung Chung, author of Movie Migrations: Transnational Genre Flows and South Korean Cinema 

"Engaging, nuanced, and bold, Klein's study offers a comprehensive exploration of Han Hyung-mo's films in their proper transnational, sociopolitical and cultural context. Bringing 'film style' to the forefront, Klein illustrates the importance of a broad cultural approach to the Cold War that centers art, gender, geopolitical dynamics, and historical legacies in the narrative."—Theodore Jun Yoo, author of It's Madness: The Politics of Mental Health in Colonial Korea

"Klein gives us not only a wonderful study of Han Hyung-mo but also a fascinating glimpse into the cultural realm of South Korea in the 1950s. It is highly recommended for anyone with an interest in Asian film, South Korea, or the cultural Cold War."—Gregg Brazinsky, author of Winning the Third World: Sino-American Rivalry During the Cold War