Painted Cinema Billboards

Painted Cinema Billboards is a visual archive of over 1,000 hand-painted Korean movie theater signs spanning from the 1940s to the early 2000s. These large-scale billboards -once displayed outside major cinemas—were a central part of film promotion before the digital age. Each was crafted by skilled artists, showcasing striking portraits of film stars and custom lettering, often painted anew for each film release.

This collection features photographs preserved by the sign painters themselves, capturing a rich period of urban visual culture tied to Korea’s cinema history. Alongside the artwork, readers can glimpse the architecture of now-vanished single-screen theaters and explore a visual history that blends commercial design, illustration, and street-level artistry.

Hardcover.

Year: 2022
Publisher: Propaganda Cinemagraphics
Size: 240mm x 240mm
Pages: 600
ISBN: 979-11-964907-9-9