Jinsoo An in outdoor setting with memorial sculpture in background

Research Bio

Jinsoo An is a scholar of modern Korean film and visual culture whose research examines the relationship between aesthetics, politics, and memory in twentieth- and twenty-first-century Korea. His work explores how cinema reflects experiences of colonialism, war, and modernization, and how artistic forms have shaped collective identity in South Korea. He is best known for his analysis of postwar Korean film and visual culture. He is an Associate Professor in the Department of East Asian Languages and Cultures at UC Berkeley, where he teaches courses on Korean literature, film, and popular culture and contributes to the study of East Asian modernity and transnational media.

Research Expertise and Interest

Korean cinema, Korean culture

Teaching

Courses taught during the three most recent terms
2026 Spring
  • Topics in East Asian Studies  [EALANG 204]  

  • Film Honors Thesis  [FILM H195]  

  • Korean Independent Cinema  [KOREAN 184]  

  • Independent Study  [KOREAN 199]  

  • Directed Study for Graduate Students  [KOREAN 298]  

  • Thesis Preparation and Related Research  [KOREAN 299]  

2025 Fall
  • Introduction to Korean Cinema  [KOREAN 186]  

  • Introduction to Korean Cinema  [KOREAN 186]  

  • Directed Study for Graduate Students  [KOREAN 298]  

  • Thesis Preparation and Related Research  [KOREAN 299]  

  • Introduction to Premodern Korean Literature and Culture  [KOREAN 7A]  

2025 Spring
  • Film Honors Thesis  [FILM H195]  

  • Directed Group Studies for Graduate Students  [GLOBAL 298]  

  • Korean Film Authors  [KOREAN 189]  

  • Korean Film Authors  [KOREAN 189]  

  • Directed Study for Graduate Students  [KOREAN 298]  

  • Thesis Preparation and Related Research  [KOREAN 299]