Young-a Park is an Assistant Professor of the Asian Studies Program at University of Hawai'i at Manoa.
One contribution of Unexpected Alliances to Korean studies is that it captures a pivotal transitional moment in recent Korean history that passed so completely, seemingly without a trace ... Park's account is a valuable one that, beyond its utility as a teaching and research tool for those of us in academia, could function as a fascinating narrative of a chaotic few years of ideological and cultural upheaval in Korea's contemporary history that left legacies, practices, and conventions whose implications are yet to be fully comprehended. --Kelly Y. Jeong, Cross-Currents: East Asian History and Culture Review Unexpected Alliances brings the key players and institutions of the Korean film scene to life. This unique book will appeal to both those with interests in Korean film and to those with broader interests in political, social, and cultural transition in South Korea and beyond. --Nancy Abelmann, University of Illinois Unexpected Alliances is a marvelous achievement, and an unique study of film in Korea. Here is a wonderful ethnography of Korea's film industry that simultaneously manages to critically stand outside the industry by contextualizing independent film in social struggle and political economy. In Park's work, the global, independent film that makes the rounds of festivals around the world is revealed to be profoundly local, the product of a dedicated community of filmmakers that struggles against injustice and negotiates with the co-optation of their work by global capitalism. --Samuel Gerald Collins, Towson University