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The reception of Western movies occurred on two dimensions. One is reception in the discursive domain and the other is reception in the popular domain. The former refers to the film criticism in newspapers and magazines. Second layer of reception was that of the general public that enjoy and take pleasure from watching Western movies. The trend in popular movies can be summarized as follows: Firstly, the audiences were interested in movies that emphasized exotic sites, such as Europe, Asia or Africa. Secondly, films based on literatures were not only popular but also were considered high-toned. Movies based on literary works were thought to promote thinking. In fact, watching movies were considered as activity comparable to reading books in Korea in the 1950s. For this reason, the films based on so-called masterpiece novels tended to receive more attentions. Thirdly, films that depended on star system were popular. Fourth, melodramas were popular. Melodrama’s popularity can be explained by the large proportion of females in the movie audiences at the time. Melodramas require emotional intimacy based on identification with the characters, and female audiences are more familiar with this kind of emotions. This article also tried to describe the sexual codes of Western movies were effective in the 1950s and also that the late 1950s Korean movies which imitate western movies, show the special features. Movie advertisement of almost all genres of movies emphasized the sexuality of actresses, and as a result, Western movies were presented as representing the body and sexuality of actresses. Eapecially, sexual adventurism of married women made a good material that aroused social voyeurism that put the permissible range of female sexuality of patrilineal society to test. After the April revolution, release of Western movies that had been prohibited allowed Korean audiences to taste the pleasure of freedom, while amplifying the desire for voyeurism under the new found freedom. In the case of imitation or adaptation of western movies, imitation or adaptation occurred in various degrees, ranging from simple adoption of titles to the imitation of motifs, narratives, scenes and images in the Korean movies of the 1950s. As a conclusion, there is crucial meaning in imitating western movies. Imitation and adaptation of western movies could contribute weakening the sentimentalism which has been regarded as the malady of Korean movies, by considering female audience’s desire.
