“A faithful documentary is a living evidence of our lives and the portrait of our history. It influences, sometimes motivates, or enlightens the public with persuasive truths and artistic charms particular to our lives. Documentaries allow us to experience our lives, look back on the history, and appreciate them as art—fulfilling all of their social functions.”¹ Ever since films became pervasive, people of every time period attempted to define documentary films, “yet no definition that the majority can accept has surfaced.”² People agree on the characteristics of documentary films, such as the fact that they use real events as motifs and that they are based on real events, real people, and facts. However, at certain times in the past, the production of documentaries was limited, and it was inevitable that subjective elements filtered in later due to environmental limitations and other impacts. Consequently, a certain degree of critical thinking is necessary in analyzing video documents such as documentaries. Despite such pitfalls, video resources (mainly documentaries) are a new kind of document that make up for many of the shortcomings of existing written documents and depict the original aspects of historical scenes, taking full advantage of its intuitive and emotional features. As a result, these video resources hold significant research value, just like existing historical resources.

Cultural exchanges between the Korean Peninsula and mainland China have continued to thrive over the years; and North Korea, which was called “Little China” among East Asian countries under the Sinosphere, has received a lot of attention from the Chinese people. Visual records about the Korean Peninsula in Chinese historical studies have become important historical materials in understanding the circumstances surrounding the Korean Peninsula in ancient times. With the development of science and technology in modern times, new types of historical sources, such as photographs and video images, began to proliferate. Among such records are documentary films, a type of nonfiction film that directly presents the reality—not fabricated stories—about real events or people; and documentaries about the Korean Peninsula filmed by the Chinese are gaining more and more importance as historical documents. Therefore, organizing and analyzing documentaries on Korea have significant value. These Chinese documentaries about Korea not only reconstruct true historical images of the Korean Peninsula, but also allow the viewers to understand the intentions and the ideas of the producers. Furthermore, they provide an opportunity to explore the Chinese perspective on the Korean Peninsula.

The very first moving picture was released in 1895,³ and it spread to China from the West at the end of the nineteenth century. In August 1896, the first “Western film” was screened at You Yi Cun (又一村) in Shanghai, China. Afterward, the number of Chinese films grew gradually.⁴ As film screenings became widespread in a few major cities, film productions began in China. However, they were all produced by foreigners, and the subjects these films explored were mainly significant historical events, such as the Boxer Rebellion, or landscapes and sceneries of various places in China.

Films produced by foreigners in China did focus on Chinese society, but most only captured negative images of China from absurd perspectives. Some even went as far as to disparage or oppose China,⁵ clearly devoid of the objectivity and truthfulness that early films had.

Only after the 20^th century, the Chinese began to produce their own films. In 1905, Feng Tai (丰泰) photo studio in Beijing filmed and produced a documentary of a few scenes from The Battle of Dingjunshan (定 軍山), a Beijing opera, and the film was also titled The Battle of Dingjunshan (定軍山). This was the very first film directed and produced by the Chinese,⁶ and since then Chinese filmmakers began to produce films more actively.

Early Chinese films mainly recorded actual events, and common subjects were Beijing operas and street performances. Therefore almost all of the early films produced in China can be classified as documentaries, and these maintain a relatively objective perspective since they did not undergo a lot in the editing process.

As film technologies began to develop, film subjects and genres began to diversify, and at the same time commercial films became mainstream. Such a transformation pushed forward the development of the Chinese film industry, and film production companies were founded by Chinese people in various parts of China, including Shanghai.

Modern news documentaries filmed by Chinese filmmakers were produced in 1911, when the Xinhai Revolution that overthrew the Qing Dynasty began. When the Wuchang Uprising erupted, Zhu Liankui, a prominent Chinese artist at the time, collaborated with foreign merchants at Meili (美利) Company and filmed many important battles waged by the New Army (新軍), which culminated in the film War of Wuhan (武汉战 争). Later in the second phase of the uprising, when Hwang Xing and the revolutionary army fought to subjugate Yuan Shikai, a Chinese director and cameraman from the Asia Film Company in Shanghai filmed War of Shanghai (上海战争).⁷ Although we no longer have access to these films, they are important as the first Chinese news documentaries in film history.

The Chinese film industry grew rapidly in the 1920s. About 200 film companies were established all across China, and many of these companies produced feature films. Sometimes they produced newsreels and scenic films, and some companies produced films that introduced the private lives and biographies of important figures in the military government in each region.

During this time, about 20 companies produced around 100 news documentaries,⁸ including the Completion of the Northern Expedition (北伐完 成记) (Great China-Lily Film Company, 大中華百合影片公司) which captured the revolutionary movement in China, History of the Great War of the Northern Expedition (北伐大战史) (Minsheng Motion Picture Company), Northern Expedition of the Revolutionary Army (革命军北伐记) (Novelty Company), Shanghai Wusa Citizen’s Rally (上海五卅市民大会) (Great Wall Film Company), and Wusa Wave (五卅沪潮) (Youlian Film Corporation).⁹ There were also films about the lives and activities of contemporary personalities, such as Presidential Inauguration of Sun Wen (孙中山就任大总统) and Sun Wen Heads to the North (孙中山先生北上),¹⁰ as well as films that recorded social activities of ordinary people including Patriotism, a Sports Day for Two Schools in East Asia (爱国、东亚两 学校运动会) and National Diplomatic Parade (国民外交游行大会).¹¹

In the 1930s, Imperialist Japan sped up their plan to invade China and staged the Manchurian Incident and the January 28 Incident. After the two incidents, eminent personalities from various circles requested that Chinese film companies produce more anti-Japanese films that reflect anti-Japanese sentiment to encourage the Chinese people to protest against Japan. Faced with a national challenge, Chinese filmmakers and workers in the film industry answered the demands of the times and captured the Chinese people’s struggle against Japan on camera. Film producers filmed newsreels, such as the 19^th Route Army’s Bloody Struggle against Japan, Battle of Shanghai Part 1 (十九路军血战抗日-上海战地写 真第一集) (Star Motion Picture Co. Ltd.), Disaster from Japanese Violence in Shanghai (暴日祸沪记) and the 19^th Route Army’s Glorious Battle against the Japanese Enemy (十九路军抗日战史) (Lianhua Film Company), Shanghai Holocaust (上海浩劫记) (Tianyi Film Company), Glorious History of the 19^th Route Army (十九路军光荣史) (Huimin Corporation), History of Bloody Struggle Against Japan in Shanghai (上海抗日血战史) (Huichong Company), and History of War in China (中国铁血军战史) (Xifan Company).¹² These films heightened the Chinese people’s anti-Japanese sentiment.

Some film companies sent camera crews to the northeastern regions to capture the anti-Japanese struggle of the people there and produced documentaries including the History of the Northeast Army of Volunteers’ Struggle Against Japan (东北义勇军抗日战史) (Nine Stars Motion Picture Company), History of the Northeast Army of Volunteers’ Bloody Struggle Against Japan (东北义勇军抗日血战史) (Jinan Film Company), and Struggle of the Northeast Army of Volunteers (东北义勇军抗日记) (Supporters’ Association of Liaoning, Jilin, and Heilongjiang).¹³

A large number of Korean patriots fighting against Japan fought in the Northeast Army of Volunteers, and Korean independence fighters in the northeast fought against Japan in cooperation with Chinese anti-Japanese organizations. Therefore it is possible for these documentaries on the Northeast Army of Volunteers to contain information about Korean anti-Japanese fighters.

Because films are quite influential, the Kuomintang Central Propaganda Commission reorganized the Entertainment Unit into the Film Unit in 1932, and established the Central Film Studio near Lake Xuanwu in Nanjing in 1934. The studio was called “Zhongtien (中电)” for short.

Zhongtien mainly produced China News (中国新闻) and introduced activities of important figures in the KMT as well as the KMT army. ¹⁴ After a full-scale war against Japan began, Zhongtien recorded the anti-Japanese struggles of the Chinese army and people and produced documentaries such as War in the East (东战场), Nine Months of Anti-Japanese War (抗战第九月), and Overcome Tai’erzhuang¹⁵ (克服台儿庄), Vibrant Western Front (活跃的西线), and Prelude to Victory (胜利的前奏). When the anti-Japanese War escalted into confrontation, Zhongtien produced documentaries, including Ten Thousand Li of a New Road (新路一 万里), The Second Generation (第二代), A Pilgrimage to Tibet (西藏巡礼), Scenery of Zhongyuan (中原风光), Scenery and Customs in the Northwest (西北风物志), and The Korean Volunteers Army (朝鲜义勇队).¹⁶ The Political Training Camp (政训处) at Nanchang Headquarters (南昌行营) also created a film production team in 1935 which was changed to China Movie Studio (中国电影制片厂), or “Zhongzhi (中制).”¹⁷ Films produced by Zhongzhi during the anti-Japanese War include Film News (电影新闻) and A Special Report on the Anti-Japanese War (抗战特辑) parts 1 through 6. These documentaries were screened not only in China but also in Singapore, Myanmar, Vietnam, the Philippines, USSR, UK, and the US.¹⁸ At first, a number of foreigners intruded upon the bases of the anti-Japanese struggles led by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) without permission and filmed documentaries which show the anti-Japanese fight of the Chinese people at those bases. China Fights On (中国在战斗) and In China (在中国) filmed by an American cameraman, Harry Dunham, are such films.¹⁹ In April 1938, “Shanxi-Gansu-Ningxia Anti-Japanese Film Studio” was established in the region near Shanxi (陕西), Gansu (甘肃), and Ningxia (宁夏), yet this company virtually did not produce any films. In August 1938, Yuan Mu-zhi, a famous actor and a playwright, established the Film Group in the General Political Department of the Eight Route Army, which later began to be called the Yanan (延安) Film Group. The Yanan Film Group produced documentaries, titled Yanan and the Eighth Route Army (延安与八路军), Integrate Production and War (生产与战斗结合起来), etc.²⁰

Among the documentaries filmed in China during the anti-Japanese War, only The Korean Volunteers Army (朝鲜义勇队) contains information about the activities of Korean independence fighters in China. However, considering the situation at the time, it seems possible that other anti-Japanese war documentaries filmed during this period included the struggle of Korean independence fighters against Japan to gain control of Korea since Korean independence fighters of the time believed that China’s victory against Japan would mean Korean independence²¹ and actively took part in China’s anti-Japanese War. Most of the soldiers in the Anti-Japanese Allied Forces who continued their fight against Japan in the northeastern region of China were Koreans, and their traces can be found in the History of the Northeast Army of Volunteers’ Struggle Against Japan (东北义勇军抗日战史), History of the Northeast Army of Volunteers’ Bloody Struggle Against Japan (东北义勇军抗日血战史), and Struggle of the Northeast Army of Volunteers (东北义勇军抗日记).

Whether it was a full-scale war waged by the KMT or an anti-Japanese struggle led by the CCP, the Korean Liberation Army, Korean Volunteers Army, soldiers of the Korean Volunteer Army and Chinese military fought together against Japan. Therefore in anti-Japanese war documentaries filmed by the Zhongtien, Zhongzhi, and Yanan Film Group all include activities of Korean independence fighters in China.

After China’s victory in the anti-Japanese war, the Chinese film industry finally entered the golden age of film production. Although it only lasted for about four years, the development of commercial films around this time marked a new chapter in Chinese film history. Documentaries also were able to enjoy a certain level of development, yet in terms of speed, it fell behind the development of commercial films.

On October 1, 1949, the People’s Republic of China was established. However, within a year of the birth of new China, the Korean War began. In accordance with their national security strategy, the Chinese government decided to dispatch troops of the Chinese People’s Volunteer Army and enter the Korean War. On October 19, the Chinese People’s Volunteer Army marched into North Korea. The Beijing Film Studio “War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea” Film Team followed the Chinese People’s Volunteer Army into North Korea as well. The Korean War was the first war that was directly linked to the issue of life or death for the country since the establishment of the new China, and consequently, the whole country showed an enormous interest in the war. For a swift and comprehensive understanding of the Korean War for the Chinese people, the Beijing Film Studio’s camera crew produced short documentaries such as Intelligence from the Korean Western Frontier (朝鲜西线捷报) (Dec 1951) and Over the 38^th Parallel, Seoul was Freed (突破三八线解放 汉城) (1951) based on the progress of the war to notify the people of China. In November 1951, Xu Xiaobing, who led the camera crew, reedited these short documentaries to create the first feature-length documentary about the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea, titled War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea, Part 1 (抗美援朝 (第一部)) (Nov 1951, Filmed by: Yang Xuzhong, Liu Deyuan, Mou Lin, Shi Yimin, Liu Yunbo, Wang Yongzhen, Chen Yifan, Han Bingxin, Su Zhongyi, Liu Hua, Zhao Hua, Jin Wei etc., Editors: Xu Xiaobing and Wang Shen). From then, a number of documentaries were produced reflecting the changing state of affairs in the war. In 1952, when the war went through many phases of truce and hostility, a series of documentaries were produced and screened in China: War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea, Part 2 (抗美援朝 (第二部)), We Oppose Germ Warfare (反对细菌战) (1952, Producers: Ji Chusheng, Shi Dongshan, Editor: Wang Yonghong), Chinese People Dispatch a Delegation to Comfort North Korea (中国人民赴朝慰问团) (1952, Filmed by: Li Hua, etc., Editor: Jiang yuchuan), and Exchange of Injured Prisoners of War (交换病伤战俘) (1953, Filmed by: Li Hua, Li Wenhua, Li Zhenyu, Editor: Lei Zhenlin). After the end of the Korean War, many series of documentaries about the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea were made in China. Most of them were produced by Bayi Film Studio, including Comforting the Cutest Person (慰问最可爱的人) (1953), An Unbreakable Transportation Line (钢铁运输线) (1954, Adapted and directed by: Peng Yifu, Hua Chun, Shi Wenzhi, Edited by: Li Erkang, Xue Boqinqing, etc.), Leniency to the Prisoners of War (宽待俘虏) (1954), Hurrah for the Friendship (友谊万岁) (1954), and At the Datong River (大同江上) (1954). The Beijing Film Studio also produced documentaries on the Korean War, such as the Song of the Hero (英雄赞) (1958) and Welcome Home, Our Troops (欢迎志愿军回国) (1958).

The outbreak of the Korean War in 1950 further solidified the Cold War. In the sharp conflict of the two ideological camps, a “hot war” like the Korean War did not break out again. However, China and Korea, which belonged to different camps, lost the opportunity to improve their relations and practically broke off all exchanges as well. In such circumstances, it was impossible for China to produce documentaries on Korea or screen Korean documentaries. Even the news recordings on Korea were mostly short footages from North Korea. During this ideological conflict, the films that were “selected” were unable to depict the actual condition of Korea to the Chinese people.

After the end of the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea, Chinese documentaries on Korea were mostly about North Korea or North Korea-China relations. Documentaries filmed during this time can be found below:

Documentaries of this time mainly celebrated and praised the deep friendship between the people of China and North Korea, and recorded visits of art troupes or government officials from the Chinese government and the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea to their respective countries.

From 1966, China entered a special phase in its history called the Cultural Revolution. During this time, most sectors in China suffered heavily, with academia possibly suffering the most. Certain scholarship was considered taboo, and a number of prominent scholars were dismissed as “reactionary intellectuals,” and the all scholastic research in the humanities and social sciences was brought to a standstill. Research on Korea and the Korean Peninsula was not an exception. Considering these circumstances, the fact that very few video images and records of Korea or the Korean Peninsula can be found during this time period is not surprising.

After the Chinese economic reform, most sectors returned to normal, and China began to reflect back on historical issues since the establishment of the country. Accordingly, Chinese people from all levels and classes of society began to look back on the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea. The most noteworthy achievements in research began to appear in the 1990s after documents and materials on the Korean War were declassified. With the emergence of numerous studies related to the Korean War, the academic name for the war was changed, and more and more scholars began to call the war that began a little after the establishment of new China as the “Korean War.” Moreover, documentaries on the Korean War began to be produced once again, based on new research results and other documents and materials. A list of new documentaries on the Korean War that have been produced since the 1990s can be found below:

As we can see from the chart above, only in 1990, ten years after the start of Chinese economic reform, the first documentary on the Korean War was able to be screened in the new China. Also, it was first produced in Shenzhen, the forefront of economic reform. Documentaries on the Korean War were intensively produced between 1997 and 2013, resulting in a total of 35 documentaries related to the Korean War. In terms of the regions where these documentaries were produced or screened, it encompassed major Chinese cities, including Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, and Hong Kong. The contents of the documentaries varied, from those focusing on the progress of the war to specific battle scenes, groups of war heroes or a hero, general introduction to the Korean War to reflections on the war. In addition, the format of the documentaries also varied from interviews of those who had first-hand experience in the war to analyses and interpretations explained by researchers regarding certain issues based on historical documents and video images.

Regarding the production methods, many of the films were based on related television programs that had been aired by some television stations, and they were edited and published as documentary films. Most of these films were produced by China Central Television (CCTV) and Phoenix Television in Hong Kong. Bayi (八一) Film Studio of the Chinese People’s Army, the Department of Military Research at the Academy of Military Science, and the People’s Liberation Army TV Propaganda Center also released documentaries that have been produced from the military’s perspective.

Although numerous documentaries on the Korean War were produced at this time, basic video resources on the Korean War are documentaries produced during the Korean War. However, unlike the documentaries that were produced during or immediately after the Korean War, new documentaries combined newly declassified information with existing information, allowing for detailed analysis and explanation of issues related to the war.

Certain documentaries reinterpreted issues related to the war based on existing video images by adding the analysis of a researcher on the topic, and others included reenactments and reproductions of the war based on the memories of survivors. Likewise, documentaries on the Korean War that have been produced after the war are results of reflections on or rein-reinterpretations of the Korean War. These documentaries reveal that Chinese perspectives on certain issues of the Korean War have changed.

China is one of the countries that adopted film technologies relatively quickly in Asia. Films produced in the earlier years are mainly footage or recording, and film genres gradually diversified with wider distribution of films and the development of technology. In addition, due to the external and internal situation that China was faced with, films became a tool that fostered patriotism in the Chinese people. As a result, many documentaries on the Chinese people who resisted the Japanese invasion were produced during the anti-Japanese war. There were also documen-documentaries on anti-Japanese Korean liberation fighters, but as these were undiscoverable, it is difficult to confirm the contents of these films.

Soon after the establishment of the new China, China intervened in the Korean War. During the war, and for a considerable time after the war, documentaries on the Korean War were filmed and produced. These documentaries depicted the Korean War from various perspectives. Since the world was divided into two camps under the USSR and the US during the Cold War creating serious ideological conflict, documentaries that were created in the beginning of the period were marked with distinct ideological characteristics in terms of the cause or nature of the war.

The opposing structure of the two camps became more permanent during the Korean War, taking away the opportunity to improve relations between Korea and China. Consequently, it is difficult to find documentaries on Korea before the establishment of diplomatic relations. Of course, there were TV and newspaper coverage as well as video images that hinted at the political scene in Korea, yet due to various reasons, it is difficult to find and see them. From the Korean War until before the establishment of Korea-China diplomatic relations, most documentaries on the Korean Peninsula were centered on North Korea or the North Korea-China relations and displayed strong political views.

The Korean War composed an important part of the history of the new China after its establishment. After the Chinese economic reform period, a number of documentaries on the Korean War were produced in China, based on footage and video images filmed earlier. Documentaries produced during this time linked newly discovered information based on the video images with existing information, and therefore they analyzed and explained issues related to the war in detail. Certain documentaries reinterpreted issues related to the war based on the existing video images by adding the analysis of a researcher on the topic, and others included reenactments and reproductions of the war based on the memories of survivors. Likewise, documentaries about the Korean War that were produced after the war can be seen as the result of reflection on or reinterpretation of the Korean War. Compared to the documentaries made in the initial phase, these documentaries contained noticeably less political and ideological colors, and focused more on factors for logical and critical thinking. As a result, the documentaries made people reconsider the characteristics of the war, including the cause of the war and which side actually started the war, and distinctly transformed the perspectives on these issues.