The Korean film industry set a milestone Tuesday evening: the number of viewers who watched Korean films this year surpassed 100 million for the first time.
This means that each person in Korea, a country with a population of about 50 million, saw an average of two Korean films per year, an achievement hardly seen in other countries.
This year, Korea had two movies with more than 10 million viewers: ``The Thieves,’’ a star-studded heist movie directed by Choi Dong-hun, and Choo Chang-min’s period drama ``Gwanghae: the Man Who Became the King,’’ also known as ``Masquerade.’’ This is the first time that two Korean films have sold more than 10 million tickets in the same year. Nine other movies were also seen by more than 4 million viewers this year.
The record comes as a joy for Korean filmmakers who have witnessed ups and downs in the past decade. The Korean film industry had enjoyed its heyday until 2006, when homegrown movies attracted 97.9 million viewers thanks to another blockbuster movie, ``The Host,’ directed by Bong Jun-ho. Since then, however, Korean cinemas have suffered a setback due to reckless investment.
The 100-million mark is especially significant in that the market share of homegrown movies has been on a steady increase ― from 47 percent in 2007 to 51.9 percent last year and 60 percent this year.
Diverse material, upgraded planning ability, screenplays with higher degree of completion and enhanced production capabilities are cited as factors that have made it possible for the Korean movie industry to achieve such a feat.
That local auteur Kim Ki-duk won the top prize at this year’s Venice Film Festival for his savage mortality tale ``Pieta’’ may have prompted Koreans to show keener interest in local cinema.
Ironically enough, the wider opening of the local movie market has become the best medicine for Korean films, rather than a poison. In 2006, when the government decided to cut the screen quota ― the obligatory number of days in which theaters must screen Korean movies ― from 146 to 73 during the Korea-U.S. free trade talks, almost all film professionals reacted vehemently with some of them taking to the streets. But the screen quota cut is believed to have contributed a great deal to sharpening the competitive edge of the local film industry.
But behind the acclamation is the dark side of our filmdom ― an ever worsening polarization. As large businesses dominate film production and distribution, low-budget indie movies face growing difficulty in getting screened at theaters, which undermines the diversity of Korean movies. In fact, indie movie viewers remained at 1 million this year.
For the long-term development of the Korean movie industry, the government and the film industry need to join forces to create an environment in which competent professionals, armed with creativity and experimental spirits, can make movies freely and competitively. Of course, measures are needed to ease the polarizing trend and help filmmakers explore overseas markets.