Film studies: South Korea

This time last year, the South Korean film industry was showing signs of a meltdown. A sharp downturn in exports took its toll on optimism along with the South Korean government's decision to halve the number of days cinemas are required to screen local productions, from 146 to 73 days.

Filmmakers were so dismayed many of them descended on Cannes last year to hold placards at the festival's red carpet events, protesting against the reduction of the so-called screen quota. And at Pusan last October, screen veterans Ahn Sung-ki and Choi Min-sik led a sit-in that lasted the length of the city's annual film festival.

A year on, things couldn't look more different. Overseas film sales continue to flounder, but the past six months have been eventful. First, there's the success at Cannes in May, with Jeon Do-yeon's best actress award (for Lee Chang-dong's Secret Sunshine), the highlight of an impressive foray for the South Korean contingent. Alongside Lee's film, Kim Ki-duk's Breath was also picked for competition for the Palme d'Or, while three more productions were shortlisted in the festival's sidebar competitions.

Then there's D-War, a surprise hit this year. Picking up where Bong Joon-ho's The Host left off last year, the special effects-laden monster movie took a staggering US$53 million in South Korea alone. More importantly, the film also managed to break into the US market, generating a return of US$9.3 million, a record for a South Korean picture released there.

It may be premature to say South Korean cinema has emerged fully from the doldrums, but the way the film industry has responded suggests an industry again on the way up. The establishment of a film fund - the money coming from a 3 per cent tax on ticket sales - is boosting confidence and coffers, and the Korean Film Council's push and publicity campaigns in international festivals and film markets have generated buzz for the country's filmmakers.

And there's the desire to widen the industry's artistic palette, says the council's secretary-general Kim Hyae-joon (left). 'The council wants to see more variety - not just Korean [pop singer]-starring films but more art house, independent films,' he tells the Post in Cannes, citing Secret Sunshine and Breath as examples.