Korean Film Archive, Film archive in Sangam-dong, South Korea.
The Korean Film Archive is a five-story building in Sangam-dong, Seoul, serving as a cinematheque and film archive dedicated to Korean cinema. It includes climate-controlled storage vaults for film preservation, screening rooms, and a library open to researchers and visitors.
The institution was founded in 1974 as the Korean Film Depository, making it one of the first government-backed film preservation bodies in Asia. In 1985, it gained full membership in the International Federation of Film Archives, which strengthened its standing abroad.
The archive holds films from the early days of Korean cinema that would otherwise be nearly impossible to find. Walking through the exhibition spaces, visitors can follow how Korean filmmaking evolved from silent films to productions known around the world.
The archive is easy to reach on foot from Digital Media City Station on the Seoul metro. Before visiting, it is worth checking current opening hours separately for the museum and the research library, as they may differ.
The archive runs a free online platform called KMDb where anyone can watch classic Korean films from home, without visiting in person. Some of the films in the collection were found outside Korea and brought back after being considered lost for decades.
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