Censorship and the government blacklist sends shock waves through South Korean artists
When a documentary opened on the deep sea divers who retrieved around 300 bodies, mostly schoolchildren, from a South Korean ferry disaster, tickets sold out – but it played to half-empty cinemas.
I’ve been in this business for over two decades but never seen anything like this
The film’s distributor Kim Il-kwon was one of thousands of artists secretly blacklisted by the conservative government for voicing “left-wing” thoughts – meaning criticism of the authorities.
“I was so surprised” by the vacant seats, he said. “The movie was the talk of the town and many people had showed interest before its release.”
The explanation emerged last month, when former culture minister Cho Yoon-sun was arrested over accusations including ordering bulk ticket purchases in a bid to prevent the public seeing Diving Bell.
The government blacklist was aimed at starving artists of official subsidies and private funding and placing them under state surveillance, according to prosecutors probing the wider scandal.
Its existence has sent shivers across the country’s filmmakers, who say it took a devastating toll on the freedom of expression that helped transform what was once an army-ruled backwater into a celebrated cultural powerhouse.