Korean Film Archive KOFA

Overview

The Korean Film Archive (KOFA) is the national film archive of South Korea, responsible for collecting, preserving, and providing access to Korean films and film-related materials. A public cultural organization under the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, KOFA operates a cinematheque, a film museum, and a reference library at its facility in Sangam-dong, Mapo-gu, Seoul.

History and Founding

KOFA was established on January 18, 1974, initially as a film storage center in Naeja-dong, Jongno-gu, Seoul, affiliated with the Korean Motion Picture Promotion Corporation (KMPPC). In 1976, it joined the International Federation of Film Archives (FIAF) as an observer and attained full FIAF membership in 1985. The institution moved to Namsan-dong in 1976 and then to the Seoul Arts Center in Seocho-dong in 1990, at which time it was renamed the Korean Film Archive. In 2002, it was reorganized as a special corporation under the Motion Picture Promotion Act. In May 2007, KOFA relocated to its current purpose-built facility in Sangam-dong, in Seoul's Digital Media City, and formally reopened to the public in 2008.

Collections and Holdings

KOFA currently preserves over 13,000 film titles and more than 26,000 reels of film. In addition to motion pictures, the archive holds scenarios, posters, photographs, oral history recordings, and other film-related ephemera gathered over five decades. KOFA has undertaken active international recovery missions, locating and repatriating pre-1945 Korean films from overseas archives including the Russian Gosfilmofond and the China Film Archive. The Han U-seob and Han Kyu-ho Collection, acquired in 2015, includes over 800 film reels from a travelling cinema business active from the 1960s through the 1980s. KOFA has digitized thousands of films and released classic Korean cinema on DVD and Blu-ray since 2004, with 4K restoration projects ongoing.

Notable Materials

KOFA's holdings include some of the earliest surviving Korean silent films and titles recovered from foreign archives, such as films from the Japanese colonial period. The archive's oral history project, active since 2004, has recorded interviews with more than 225 filmmakers. KOFA also publishes KMDb, the Korean Movie Database, and operates YouTube channels streaming classic Korean films.

Access and Usage

The Sangam-dong complex is open to the public and includes Cinematheque KOFA (a 321-seat and a 150-seat screening theater), the Korean Film Museum, and the Film Reference Library. Researchers may access the archive's collections through the KMDb online database. Some materials require advance appointment.