Poster Design of Korean Films ② - In the 1970s

The silhouettes of the two actors are grotesquely connected, conveying Kim Ki-young's unique feeling. Jeon Gye-hyun's expression tells she gave up on everything, while Youn Yuh-jung's innocent expression says, "I don't know anything." The title in Chinese characters also exudes an erotic atmosphere, as if two bodies were connected as one. It is an excellent poster representing the 1970s, where composition, color, and title design are all well harmonized.

Until the 1970s, Korean movie posters often employed the form of a collage of multiple photos. This poster showed outstanding design quality using with just one image and large, colorful typography that takes up more than half of the poster. This design contributed to raising the quality of Korean movie poster design. This style can also be seen in Whale Hunting (Bae Chang-ho, 1984), which is assumed to have been influenced to some extent by this poster.

The poster’s layout emphasizes the main roles, Sin Yeong-il and Na O-mi, and places text on the top, bottom and sides. It looks sophisticated even by today's standards. This film was the directorial debut of actor Shin Seong-il, and I think it is the first instance in which a director appeared on the movie poster. Other such posters on where the director appears are Whale Hunting 2 (Bae Chang-ho, 1985) and Hnaji (Im Kwon-taek, 2010).

Maybe because there are circular shaped vowels in the title Oh! My Love, the circular pattern occupies half of the poster, which is expressed quite sensibly. Kim Jung-hoon who was the best-known child actor at the time, occupied the center of the poster, beating Shin Seong-il, Yoon Jeong-hee, and Heo Chang-kang, who were top actors at the time.

The film was directed by actor Park Nou-sik. This poster is faithful to the meaning of the title. Without any special head copies, only the phrase ‘Park’s 4th directorial work’ is highlighted, which shows how influential his very name was at the time. The two actors who seem to be in a crisis are separated by the zipper centered on their faces, and the actress stands boastfully on top of them, which arouse the curiosity about the film.

It is a sensuous poster designed in only three colors: blue, red, and black. It reminds us of a poster of contemporary European art-house films. The typography of the title seems to have been influenced by the title of Insect Woman (Kim Ki-young, 1972), a hit at the time. The typography of the Chinese character ‘女’ in this poster, which means “woman,” is intentionally similar to the same character in Insect Woman.