There are probably many out there that are in love with Korean cinema and cannot live a single day without it, but I have lived in Korea for about 30 years now as a Film Lover and most recently, as a DVD retailer. So I'd like to write brief summary about and recount the 2002 year in Korean cinema for those who are either getting into Korean cinema now or would like to have an informative overview of what has happened in the past year. Before reading, though, please be aware that this is individual reflection of what I personally felt and experienced being a resident of South Korea and a DVD seller and may be different to other writings about similar subjects.

HOW MANY FILMS WERE RELEASED IN 2002?

According to the Korean Film Archive (http://www.koreafilm.or.kr ), the search engine lists that 79 films were produced in 2002. In 2001, it was 65. Briefly speaking, more films are being made these days as just around 50 to 60 films were made in mid 1990's. Of course, there were some films released in 2003 that are amongst the 2002 list. This means that Korean Film market is growing at an exponential rate simply for its broad and commercial appeal to the international world.

*Since my last written column (http://www.kfccinema.com/column/jopok/jopok.html), only 60 films were made in 2001, but now I can find 65. Maybe a few snuck in since that time.

WAS 2002 THE YEAR OF SCIENCE FICTION?

As we heard before, tons of Korean Sci-fi films were in production during 2002. While there were many being made the result was entirely different as 4 were released and unfortunately, to poor ticket sales.

Below are those that were released in the Science Fiction genre.

2009 LOST MEMORIES
R U READY?
YESTERDAY
RESURRECTION OF THE LITTLE MATCH GIRL

We had Horror wave at 2000 (15 films), JoPok wave at 2001 (8 films), but only 4 Sci-fi flicks on 2002? We can't call it a WAVE! Below are my personal feels on why only a few were released and why they did poorly at the box office.

KOREAN FILM INDUSTRY DOES NOT HAVE A SCIENCE FICTION HISTORY. IN FACT, KOREAN CULTURE DOES NOT HAVE MUCH OF A SCIENCE FICTION HISTORY.

Of course, there were few Sci-fi related films in Korea in the past. We could take into account UREME and its sequels in the 1980's. In the 1990's, the YOUNGGU series made an impact (http://www.kfccinema.com/features/articles/yonggary/yonggary.html). But to our surprise, the Korean film industry and the press didn’t take them into consideration, almost avoiding and dismissing them. Science Fiction is still a child in the industry, unfortunately.

As stated earlier, UREME was a really big thing in Korea around the 1980's. It was so popular that children could not escape from the UREME wave at then. It has been a part of every child that grew up then, becoming that fond memory that most look back on. It was almost a syndrome as lots of people still remembers Shim Hyung Rae (President of YONGGU films) as the character of “Esperman.”

UREME was directed and produced by Kim Chung Ki. In fact, he's not a filmmaker, but a very famous and powerful animation director. He made the UREME series due to lack of budget for animation. Obviously, low budget independent films are less costly than animations. UREME was the first Korean series that was similar to Japanese live action, so even for cheesy SFX and story, it was a huge hit, and made 6 films and 3 spin-offs. It was a trend setter and many followed suit.

If UREME was such a big success then why is it ignored in Korean film history? There are 2 main reasons for this. Firstly, the director was not from movie industry. He just wanted to make some money and happened to do so with a low budget and the film industry didn't like it. In fact, they were jealousy of his success. Secondly, it's considered "Cheesy Trash only for Children."

It is very important to understand the Korean film industry and press. Even if some films became a hit, it's beyond their taste and they just ignore it. UREME might be really cheesy stuff, but it was the best among the others that were copycat releases as the special effects were better than earlier series, and had more of a following amongst the children. That's the same reason why Shim Hyung Rae has always been underrated in the Korean film press. UREME could be real trash, but before UREME, there weren’t many genre films directed towards children. It wasn’t until after the UREME wave that more films were catered towards the young. Think about SPY KIDS and think about other cool movies for children and for the family. Can you remember any Korean films for children, except for UREME Shim Hyung Rae? In the end, UREME was blamed for its content, made fun of and forgotten about in the Korean film archives for its huge impact.

This among others could be the reason why Korean film does not have a Science Fiction archive, which is unfortunate. Even in our literature and manhwa, the same thing happens. There were a few Science Fiction ones, but they were either forgotten or unknown. I always think like this: "Masterpieces are masterpieces because they are acknowledged and remembered."

As I wrote in my JoPok wave column
(http://www.kfccinema.com/column/jopok/jopok.html), 2000 Korean horror was not very good due to the disconnection of old school Korean horror. Though in 2001, the JoPok genre had an endless flow of releases, releasing some blockbusters. If they had accepted UREME with improved public awareness, things would be different, possibly more Science Fiction related films and more children oriented cinema.

KOREAN FILM INDUSTRY MISUNDERSTANDS SCIENCE FICTION AND SPECIAL EFFECTS.

We know that science fiction and special effects are entirely different things, and some science fiction masterpieces may not even have updated special effects at all. Obviously special effects do not make up science fiction in film. Though, special effects have been an essential trait for most films even outside the science fiction spectrum, but there are more important things such as Plot, Character Development, Setting, etc. Strange as it may sound, Korean filmmakers have recently just realized this now.

RESURRECTION OF THE LITTLE MATCH GIRL WAS DEAD ON ARRIVAL.

It is the second most expensive Korean film of all time, almost the same as YONGGARY production budget. While it may have had many mixed reactions, it totally failed in the Korean market, maybe lasting around one week in the theaters. Maybe the term “failed” might not be as appropriate as “forgotten” or even “ignored.” There may not be any particular reasons for its demise, but in my humble opinion, director Jang Sun Woo was not suitable for such a big budget science fiction movie as ROTLMG affected the market pretty badly. It is said that because of the terrible box office receipts for the film, that studios may not release another science film in the foreseeable future. Who could take the risk in crippling the Korean film market again?

When you first enter into the world of Korean Cinema, you might notice some big budget films filled with a lot of special effects and come to some conclusions. But for Korean Cinema, these are all just babies right now, the first initial films of a much larger wave. It has been a long time for Korean Cinema to reach this point, so it would be a good idea to check out the smaller films that came before, or even the films that may go unnoticed in this wave of bigger studio films. The smaller ones are definitely the reasons why Korean Cinema has gotten this far.

JOPOK AND HORROR WAVE CONTINUED THROUGH 2002?

Let’s recap the 10 JoPok films that were released in 2002.

SHE BRINGS US DANGER
2424
SAVING MY HUBBY
MARRYING THE MAFIA
SPARK THE LIGHTER
BOSS X-FILE
FAMILY
DIG OR DIE
4 TOES

Here are the 4 Horror films that were released as well.

H: MURMUR
UNBORN BUT FORGOTTEN
THREE
PHONE

The 18 Romance / Melodramas.

CLASSIC
MADELENE
WHISPERING PRINCESS
ARDOR
ADDICTED
ROMANTIC PRESIDENT
LOVER’S CONCERTO
A PERFECT MATCH
SURPRISE
BET ON MY DISCO
WHO R U
OVER THE RAINBOW
IRON PALM
MARRIAGE IS CRAZY
MY BEAUTIFUL DAYS
THE BEAUTY IN DREAM
AGAIN 2002
BUS STATION

Of course, these could be categorized differently as some were mixed genre films.

Back in 2001, people were worried that the JoPok wave could spoil whole Korean film market, but the result was not as serious. Out of the 10 films that were released, MARRYING THE MAFIA, SPARK THE LIGHTER and BOSS X-FILE earned a decent return. Interesting enough, MY BOSS MY HERO’s production company, Doo Sa Boo Films didn’t make another Jopok film this year. Even though MY BOSS MY HERO was the last JoPok blockbuster of 2001,They did not go on to make another one. Instead, they changed genres and made a sex comedy called SEX IS ZERO and the result was excellent! I hope to see more films from this production company.

Out of the horror films listed, PHONE was the only successful one. Maybe the horror wave stopped? Hopefully the horror genre will continue and more will break the mold and bring horror back into the spotlight again.

What a big list the melodrama list was! I always tell people that the best type of films in Korea were the drams. We could assume that half may not be up to par, but with 5 amazingly good dramas coming out of Korea is a pretty great feat.

Even with the few disastrous trends that may be happening in the Korean film industry, more and more popular ones will show up, that’s for sure.

BACK TO THE 1980’S!

It’s no surprise that many films like to use the past as a setting, it makes for some interesting cinematic material. But for Korean Cinema, it was not very common to make a movie based on the past. Maybe it is a reflection on us Koreans on how we view our past as filmmakers.

Around 1960-1980's, there were several movies based on the historical periods of 200-300 years ago. Recently, there have been very few. Though, there were a few in the 1980's, some in 2002.

BET ON MY DISCO
WET DREAMS
MANNER ZERO
ULLALA SISTERS
DOUBLE AGENT

Anything based in the 1980’s has always been pretty funny. Nostalgia is probably one of the most fascinating tools to use in any entertainment medium. There were a few Korean TV dramas that were based in the past, using the periods of 160-1980, that had become great successes, which obviously encouraged the film market. Unfortunately, one of the limitations of Korean pop culture is that it does not archive itself very well.

MORE FILMS WENT ABRAOD. MORE FOREINGERS ARE INTERESTED IN KOREAN CINEMA.

There were actually too many Korean films exported and bought my many different studios abroad, but here are the major ones.

We could think about the success of MUSA in France as over 100,000 people were in theaters for the large Korean epic. Months ago, WHASANGO was released in Japan successfully with new recorded songs added to the soundtrack. Harry Knowles of AIN’T IT COOL NEWS fame praised SYMPATHY FOR MR. VENGEANCE as the top No. 1 spot of his best of list for 2002 (http://www.aintitcool.com/display.cgi?id=14217) . Who could imagine such a bang 5 years ago?

We also saw a few US Studios picking up remake rights for several Korean films. In 2001, MY SASSY GIRL, MY WIFE IS A GANGSTER among many others were being sold. Now, films such as JAILBREAKERS are being bought up right away. Remakes have always been popular for Hollywood, but it’s still a surprise for them to be buying Korean film rights as Korea is still a very small country and its international mainstream film recognition is still getting larger.

It’s no surprise that Korean cinema is going abroad now as more and more people are finding about it. Even 3 or 4 years ago, no one would have thought that it would happen. So this is a very good thing for Korean cinema indeed.

MULTI-COUNTRY-FILMS, INCLUDING JAPAN!

Films could be made by co-operation with lots of companies, as we all know. And some films are made in association with multiple countries. It's not very special case for international film market at all, but for recent Korean films, it is a remarkable thing considering the history between Japan and Korea.

In fact, lots of Korea / Hong Kong films were made in the 1970-1980's. But after Hong Kong cinema became big, it started to become uncommon. Now that Korean film is growing, multi-country produced films are being made again. Here are some Korean produced films that were made in conjunction or dealt with other countries.

2009 LOST MEMORIES (Korea / Japan)
SAULABI (Korean / Japan)
THREE (Korea / Hong Kong / Japan)
SEOUL (Japan / Korea) *Japanese film set in Korea
IRON PALM (Korea / USA) *Korean film set in USA
GO (Japan) Two Korean actors as cameos and themes of Korean-Japanese lifestyles.

Korean films with foreign stars in them.

RESURRECTION OF THE LITTLE MATCH GIRL (Hong Kong Actress)
YMCA BASEBALL TEAM (Japanese Actors)

Foreign films with Korean stars.

TRUTH ABOUT CHARLIE (US, Park Joong Hoon)
SO CLOSE (HK, Song Seung Hun)
RUSH (JP, Kim Yun Jin)

It is indeed important and shocking at the same time as Korea and Japan has started a relationship in producing films together. As you can see with 2009 LOST MEMORIES or YMCA BASEBALL TEAM, the histories depicted in those films were not idealistic. Even a few years ago, a Korean film wouldn’t be released if it had 1 Japanese actor. So it’s a somewhat amazing situation that Korean / Japanese produced films could be made and even have films such as SEOUL could be released here in Korea.

It is good news for Korean cinema as they are not only sharing productions with other countries, but using mixed themes and histories with them, like such films as MUSA and 2009 LOST MEMORIES. Not sure how long this will be, but while it is happening, it is definitely contributing a lot to Korean cinema.

IN CONCLUSION

- More Korean films were being made in 2002 due to the growing market.
- In 2002, Science Fiction wave was not available due to the lack of archive and misunderstanding of the genre itself.
- JoPok is still being made, but few of them succeeded.
- More Korean films went abroad: DVD’s, Film Rights, and Remake Rights.
- Koran Film is growing, so many multi-country films were being made, including Japan and Hong Kong. And some Korean film stars appeared in many foreign films, including major Hollyood films.

SO… HOW ABOUT 2003?

Maybe you might think differently from my opinion. As usual, I don't believe anything about movie news in Korea only until a film is finished and released. There are too many changes and cancellations over here. As I've heard, about more than 10 martial arts movies are on pre-production, but how many will actually be finished?

These films I’m about to list are worth to wait. These are all chosen by me personally, so if you don’t share the same tastes in films, you may not like them. If you have different news and opinions, share your thoughts on the boards with the other Korean film fans.

MY WIFE IS A GANGSTER 2
It started out as a rumor, but it may be real now. I don’t know who’s making this one as the first producer was Seo Se Won, a very powerful comedian and chairman of talk shows, but he’s not traveling abroad, evading Korea as he is in “trouble” of some sort. So who’s the going to producer the sequel? I liked the first one a lot, and am really interested in the sequel, but not sure if it would be good.

WITHOUT YOU
This is a very unknown finished film from the maestro of Korean B-movies, director Nam Ki Nam. This is his 107th film and has yet to be released. Hopefully this will be come out soon.

MEMORIES OF MURDER
New film by Bong Joon Ho, who directed BARKING DOG NEVER BITES. Not sure exactly, but rumors have said that it is an amazingly well written by that he penned himself. Stars Song Kang ho, could be another SYMPATHY FOR MR. VENGEANCE.

OLD BOY
New film by Park Chan Wook, who directed JSA and SYMPATHY FOR MR. VENGEANCE. It Stars Choi Min Sik. Seems to be a thriller based on Japanese Manga.

D-WARS
It might not be released within 2003, but maybe in 2004. Anyways, teaser for this film popped up and lots of people are interested in this one. D-Wars is produced and directed by Shim Hyung Rae of YoungGu fame.

4 PEOPLE TABLE (Not exact English title, just rough translation)
Jeon Ji Hyun is back! But this time, it is a horror! She sees ghost! What more do you want?

MARUCHI ARACHI (Not exact English title, just Korean pronunciation)
Ryu Seung Wan who made DIE BAD, NO BLOOD NO TEARS. This new films stars his brother, Ryu Seung Bum once again. Title is based on old school Korean animation, but just borrowed the name. This looks to be a martial arts action film set in Korea

 

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Mr Kwang
04/08/2003