The Despot, The Director, The Actress and the Monster
In the final years of the Goryeo Kingdom, lived a monster that ate up all the metal scraps. People tried to kill it but could not succeed. Even when it was thrown into fire, it flew back to the village, its whole body aflame, and burned down all the houses. And thus, they named the monster Pulgasari.
The Despot, The Director, The Actress and the Monster gallery: 12 selected images. Uncaptioned images form part of the visual sequence.
Kim Jong-il was still a young man, in the shadow of his father. Waiting to take control. But the despot seemed more interested in cinema than ideology.
— The Actress, 1978
I started with one word, Pulgasari. I thought it could contain a whole story. But from its center grew new limbs.
— The Director, 2025
Begin on a small scale and end grandly.
— The Despot, 1973
The Monster ate metal.
— The Monster, 1985
First a needle, then a knife, then a camera.
The Machine ate all the images and grew new limbs.
— The Monster, 2025