Extreme Job (2019) directed by Lee Byeong-heon, Along with the Gods: The Two Worlds (2017) and Along with the Gods: The Last 49 Days (2018) by Yong-hwa Kim, The Host (2006) by Bong Joon-ho, Hope (2013) by Lee Joon-ik, A Taxi Driver (2017) by Jang Hoon, The Man from Nowhere (2010) by Lee Jeong-beom, Ode to My Father (2014) by Yoon Je-kyoon, Roaring Currents (2014) by Kim Han-min, Train to Busan (2016) by Yeon Sang-ho, Miracle in Cell No. 7 (2013) by Lee Hwan-kyung and Parasite (2019) by Bong Joon-ho. This is the list of “11 Korean Movies That Are Better Than Hollywood Movies [Ft. HappySqueak]” (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y76AYzSMtDo) an international YouTuber named ‘myDramaList’ who had 361,000 subscribers introduced on a video posted on August 12th, 2020. The video has been viewed by 2,358,000 so far.
Except for a few, those on the list are not worth much attention. Other than the fact that all the films are box-office hits with the record of over 10 million audience, apart from Hope and The Man from Nowhere, the list is not that appealing and only reveals his/her limited experience in Korean films. Bong Joon-ho’s Memories of Murder (2003,) Park Chan-wook’s Oldboy (2003) and Lee Chang-dong’s Burning (2018) are not even listed on it.
Still, the selection is quite interesting. It is so, considering that a non-Korean YouTube creator made a video with 12 selected Korean films that s/he believed are better than those made in Hollywood, which has been called the ‘kingdom of movies’ for over a century. It is not surprising that tons of similar video clips are being created in and out of Korea. In the context of the Korean wave, this phenomenon is good enough to show K-Movie craze that is drawing attention.
However, today, about one year and nine months later from the point the video was posted, what is leading the Korean wave is not K-Movies. It is Korean dramas on online streaming services or TV, such as Squid Game, Pachinko, Our Blues, Twenty-five Twenty-one, and Business Proposal, and K-Pop led by BTS and BLACKPINK. To put it simply, K-Movie is sort of catching its breath in a temporary pause waiting for a ‘post-Parasite’ to come.
Would the term ‘pause’ be too optimistic? Isn’t it that K-Movie now faces a crisis, let alone a craze or a pause? Film theaters are good places to find such a sign. According to a report from the Korean Film Council, K-Movie market has been struck by the Corona-19 pandemic lasting for more than 2 years. Sales and audience numbers were up by 14.5 percent and 1.7 percent to around 462 million USD and 60.53 million each from a year earlier. This is a rise compared to the numbers in 2020, which recorded the lowest since 2004. The sales were, however, only 30.5% of those in 2019 before the pandemic. It might be too early to see it as a recovery. Looking at the sales of Korean films finds more serious situation. Numbers for Korean movies dropped noticeably with the release of Hollywood Blockbusters like F9, Black Widow, Eternals, and Spider-Man: No Way Home. Out of 10 box-office hits in 2021, only two were Korean films, Escape from Mogadishu and Sinkhole.
It tells us that the rise in sales above only applies to non-Korean films. Sales and audience numbers in fell by 50.5 percent and 55.0 percent to around 137 million USD and 18.22 million each from a year before. This is the lowest since 2004. Audience share was much worse. It dropped by 37.9 percent to 30.1 percent compared to the previous year, going below 50 percent in 11 years. It is the lowest since 1999. The annual average number of going to the movies per person was up by 0.02 to 1.17, but it was down by 3.2 from 4.37 in 2019.
Despite these numbers and signs of crisis, we are hearing good news on Korean movies. One of the biggest news is that 3 Korean films have been invited to the official at the 75th Cannes Film Festival to take place from May 17th. Park Chan-wook’s Decision to Leave, his new film in 6 years since The Handmaiden (2016,) and another Korean film Broker directed by Hirokazu Kore-eda who won the Palme d’Or for Shoplifters in 2018 are to be screened for Competition. And actor-turned-director Lee Jung Jae’s debut film Hunt is to be screened at the Midnight Screenings.
Besides the stories and directors of the films, their star-studded cast attracts attention. Decision to Leave presents the performance of renowned actors and actresses like Park Hae Il, Lee Jung-hyun, Ko Kyung-pyo and Tang Wei who starred in Se, jie (2007). Broker features strong cast with Song Kang Ho, Bae Doona and IU, and Hunt is led by Lee Jung Jae who became a global start through Squid Game, Jung Woo Sung, one of Korea’s top stars and Heo Sung Tae, a scene-stealing supporting actor. I believe Korean films have never been to Cannes with such a powerful lineup before, looking back on my visiting the Cannes Film Festival 20 times. I would dare to say that Korean films are sure to hog the limelight at Cannes this year. Lee Jung Jae, particularly, would draw enormous attention.
Considering the public’s high attention to those films, they would probably attract the moviegoers who had to or wanted to be into the video content on online streaming services, away from movie theaters due to the pandemic. Other than the films invited to the Cannes Film Festival, hot Korean movies are to come out soon in domestic market. Among them is Hansan, director Kim Han-min’s new film in 8 years since Roaring Currents in 2014. It is the second film of the trilogy about naval battles led by Admiral Lee Sun-shin of Joseon Dynasty. The film is to be released at the end of July, but around 7,500 internet users have already said that they want to see it, when it is more than 3 months away. It is no wonder, given that Kim’s previous film has the record number of 17.6 million admissions, all time high across all films screened in Korea. Kim has already finished shooting the last of the trilogy Noryang: The Sea of Death (tentative title), and working on when to bring it to the audience.
Director Hong Sang-soo’s 27th feature film The Novelist’s Film is released in April. It won the Silver Bear Grand Jury Prize, which is awarded to the second-best film, at the 72nd Berlin Film Festival this year, and this is another valuable achievement to be noted. Hong, one of Korea’s top directors, won the Silver Bear for Best director for The Woman Who Ran, and the Silver Bear for Best Screenplay for Introduction both at the Berlin Film Festival, being awarded three years in a row. I expect based on the ‘politics of film festivals’ that he would surely be able to grab the Golden Bear in the near future. If that happens, Korean films are acclaimed as top at all of the three major film festivals in the world, along with Kim Ki-duk’s Pieta recognized at the Venice Film Festival in 2012, and Bong Joon-ho’s Parasite at the Cannes Film Festival in 2019. It is sure to enhance the position of Korean films in the global film circle.
As a cinephile and film critic with experience in watching films for 50 years, studying films for 40 years, and writing about films for 30 years, I would say with confidence that global attention to and love for K-Movies would last for long. The Korean wave is not a simple craze but something to be viewed in the context of history of civilization, and therefore is expected to continue through the 2020s and 2030s.
Then, where should K-Movies be headed when a myriad of video content is being provided through online streaming services, whether it is movies or TV dramas? With this bleak and gloomy future for movie theaters, we should not stick to relying on traditional theaters (I am of such a kind!), dwelling on the analogue-special sensitivity. We should see the movies with the perspective of digital era which the pandemic has opened in full scale. As philosopher of film Noël Carroll suggested decades ago, the concept of movies need to be expanded to regard movies as moving images. What matters now is ‘movies as moving images’ whether they are shown in the theaters, on TVs, or through OTT (over-the-top) services. We have already seen the need for such a shift from Bong Joon-ho’s working with Netflix, world’s biggest OTT service provider, to create Okja in 2017. Kim Seong-hun made Kingdom series (2019 to 2021) with Netflix after making his name through Tunnel (2016.) Han Jun-hee also made an impressive series D. P. (2021) with Netflix after proving himself in directing Coin Locker Girl (2015) and Hit-and-Run Squad (2019.) Hwang Dong-hyuk brought the biggest success to Netflix by creating Squid Game in 2021. He had made excellent films such as Silenced (2011,) Miss Granny (2014,) and The Fortress (2017.)
On the other hand, Hong Sang-soo has been holding on to the analogue way and working in his own style in this arrogant digital era. He keeps asking us “What is a movie?” in his style of creating Hong Sang-soo-ish films, without giving up the values he pursues, for money. I should appreciate it that Korea has not only Bong Joon-ho but Hong Sang-soo who is of completely different style, as Ryusuke Hamaguchi, the director of Drive My Car (2021) once said he was jealous of it.
Jeon Chan-il is a film critic and an adjunct professor at the Faculty of Global Arts of Chung-Ang University. He is also working as a culture planner and connecter. He is a member of the organizing committee of Bucheon International Animation Festival. Among his publications is Bong Joon-ho, a Genre of One’s Own (2020.)
* 《Cultura》 2022 May(Vol. 95) *
