[Korean DVD News] Double Curve of Youth [청춘쌍곡선 ] (1956) Available for Pre-Order

The musical comedy Double Curve of Youth [청춘쌍곡선 ] (1956) by director Han Hyeong-mo [한형모] (Madame Freedom [자유부인] (1956); The Hand of Fate [운명의 손] (1954), both previously released on DVD) is now available for pre-order. After the Armistice was signed in 1954, filmmakers started returning to Seoul to make pictures, in spite of a serious shortage of film and equipment. In the 1950s government policies, including a tax on tickets to promote the domestic industry, resulted in a boom in production, from a meager 15 films in 1955 to 108 in 1959. A number of historical films and melodramas were produced during this time, and large numbers of women were beginning to go to the cinema. Han Hyoeng-mo's portrayals of strong-willed women could not have failed to appeal to this growing population of filmgoers. The director's 1954 film The Hand of Destiny [운명의 손], is credited with being the first ever screen kiss in the history of Korean film, creating a sensation among the Korean public and leading to Han’s work being identified as a source of many of the social problems of the day. Han went on to make Double Curve of Youth [청춘쌍곡선] and Madame Freedom [자유부인], both released in 1956, and both spectacularly successful. Synopsis: A middle school teacher and the son of a wealthy industrialist attend the same university. The one is sick from overeating, the other from malnutrition. A doctor suggests the two exchange lifestyles for two weeks. While living in eachother's house, they fall in love with eachother's younger sister, and a joint wedding ceremony ensues. (DVD from Korea)

Pre-order Double Curve of Youth (Available Dec 23)

-- Note: Yes Asia, which lists the film as Hyperbola of Youth, says that the DVD has Estonian and Korean subtitles, when in fact they are in English and Korean.

[Source: Korean Film History by Kim So-young]