Recent years have seen a wave of Korean pop culture—known as hallyu—sweep across Asia as consumers from Thailand to Japan became ardent fans of Korean TV dramas, movies and music acts. No pop culture phenomenon lasts forever, however, and recently released statistics suggest that exports from Korea’s entertainment industry are now declining. Is the Korean wave finally ebbing? If so, why? And what can be done about it?

These questions were put to Michael Huh, vice president of ImaginAsian TV and Kim Yong-hwa, director of the recent Korean comedy 200 Pound Beauty, at a panel discussion moderated by The Korea Society’s film blogger Samuel Jamier.

Huh characterized the current trend as a market correction. When Korean pop culture first caught the world’s attention—especially Korean TV dramas, which are the most profitable segment of Korea’s entertainment exports—the industry responded with hasty exuberance. Korean producers rushed to create new dramatic series in order to capture the momentum. In the process, they might have neglected the fundamentals of their genre, and soon many Korean dramas featured formulaic narratives and focused on the drawing power of a limited number of stars. It should be no surprise then, he added, that viewers’ interest is waning.

The panelists agreed that Korean film companies would be wise to improve their marketing strategies, as they often lack clear plans on how to promote their cultural products abroad. Huh pointed to the recently released film The Host as evidence. The Host did phenomenally well with South Korean audiences he said, and had all the qualities necessary to be an international hit. But The Host’s distributors didn’t have a specific target audience in mind when they released it in the U.S., and as a result their marketing efforts fizzled and The Host was less successful in the American market than it could have been.

Kim shared Huh’s belief that the current downward trend was more of a normal fluctuation than a disaster. He described the state of the industry as basically healthy, but suggested it is facing long-term troubles. Presently, a small number of hit movies are subsidizing the production of many more mediocre films. While this keeps the industry afloat, it contributes to a blockbuster mentality that might sink it in the long run.

Kim said that the Korean entertainment industry’s emerging success in the late 1990s was derived, paradoxically, from its inability to compete with Hollywood blockbusters on equal terms when it came to production budgets or special effects. As a result, Korean directors were forced to focus relentlessly on the quality and originality of their stories and audiences responded. Now that the industry’s appeal is softening, Kim believes Korean directors have an excellent opportunity to refocus on their storylines and surprise their audiences all over again. Indeed, he added, Korean directors are already experimenting with new cinematic formulas that augur well for the future—such as the upcoming D-War, a sci-fi epic that blends Korean folklore with non-Korean actors.

Presented in conjunction with the New York Korean Film Festival, presented by Helio (August 21 - September 2, 2007).

Thursday, August 23, 2007

About the Speakers

with

Kim Yong-Hwa
Film Director, 200-Pound Beauty

Michael Huh
Vice-President, ImaginAsian TV

Robert Cagle
Assistant Professor of cinema studies, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign


Moderated by

Samuel Jamier
The Korea Society Film Blog

Kim Yong-Hwa is the director of the recently released film 200-Pound Beauty, which has already become the eighth highest-grossing Korean-made film and been nominated for a Grand Bell award. Kim made his directorial debut in 2000 with his graduation short film Salty Fish, which won prizes at the Rochester International Film Festival and Houston International Film Festival. He made his feature film debut with the 2003 hit Oh! Brothers. Kim is a graduate of ChungAng University where he majored in film.

Michael Huh is vice president of marketing and strategic development at ImaginAsian TV. Prior to joining ImaginAsian TV, Huh was vice president of marketing and business development for e-Comsoft, Inc., an e-commerce firm, and an integral founding member/vice president of marketing at abuz.net, a total solution e-commerce consulting firm. Huh also spent eight years at RJRSyracuse University and a BA from Colgate University. Nabisco, where he served as regional marketing and business planning director for the Asia Pacific region and managing director for Korea. Huh holds an MBA from the Whitman School of Management at Syracuse University and a BA from Colgate University.

Robert L. Cagle currently is an assistant professor of cinema studies at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. His essays on film have appeared in Cinema Journal, The Velvet Light Trap, AfterImage and CineAction. Cagle is currently completing a study of contemporary South Korean melodrama, for which he received the Korean Film Council's 2005 Grant for Overseas Research on Korean Film.