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| South Korean director Bong Joon-ho, who directed the film 'Parasite', speaks during a press conference at the Japan National Press Club in Tokyo on Feb. 23. /AFP-Yonhap |
By Kim Ji-soo
After South Korean legend Pak Se-ri won her first U.S. Open in 1998 ― a dramatic and historic win that drew global golfers' attention ― Korea saw a rise in up-and-coming professional golfers. One after another ― Shin Ji-yai, Park In-bee, Park Sung-hyun ― top young golfers inspired by Pak's win began to emerge.
Pak's U.S. Open victory came during an unprecedented financial crisis in Korea, when many citizens were fearing the nation could return to poverty. The triumph also inspired both young children and their parents ― whose fierce zeal for education often encouraged the golf aspirations of their offspring. There are six Korean female golfers in the world top 15 according to Women's World Golf Ranking this week.
Upon the global success of K-pop, many Korean young people began to aspire ― and some, become ― top pop stars, such as BTS.
Thus, director Bong Joon-ho's four-Oscar feat has the nation's soft-power proponents hoping that Korea will stake out a bigger presence in global cinema, possibly through a new, young generation of Bong-fans.
While it may be too early for her young sons to talk about having careers, Kim So-young, a 49-year-old mother-of-two in Dongbu Ichon-dong, Seoul, knows that her eldest child has a great interest in telling narratives through moving images. She says he has made a minutes-long "film" on his cellphone already.
She adds that her son was very happy to see Bong win his many awards, bringing home the nation's first Oscar in his favorite field.
"He was ecstatic to realize that if a person works continuously in a field they are interested in, they can achieve great success (like Bong's)," Kim said.
There are no film production "hagwon" or cram institutes in Korea for young children yet, but many film clubs are offered at college-level.
Professor Jason Bechervaise of Korea Soongsil Cyber University believes that the talent and the passion are there.
"But we have to keep in mind that Bong went to college during the 1980s and entered the Korean film industry in the 1990s," he says, referring to the view that the Korean film industry first flourished after the country's democratization in 1987 following decades of authoritarian rule. "The industry is now more prosperous and self-sufficient, but on the other hand, it's also difficult for young filmmakers to get a chance to create films."
He noted that Bong has been in the industry for two decades, and was given a chance to continue to direct following the commercially unsuccessful "Barking Dogs Never Bite."
Bechervaise, however, also said that he has noticed a fixation on current films and new trends among young people. "Young filmmakers can learn a great deal from someone like Bong and his hunger,"" he said. "Bong Joon-ho, like many of his peers, is extremely well-versed in world cinema, so I encourage my students to also seek out older films from across the world, from directors like Alfred Hitchcock, Kim Ki-young, Akira Kurosawa and Jean Renoir."
Figures resulting from Korea's surge in content power are not to be ignored. According to the Korea Creative Content Agency, Korean music exports totaled $564 million in 2018. The impact of BTS reportedly brings in some $3 billion in economic value per year for South Korea, according to a 2018 report by the Hyundai Economic Research Institute.
Exports of Korean films and related technical services totaled $73.8 million in 2019 ― not including sales from "Parasite,"― according to the Korean Film Council.
This strong performance content-wise will further diversify Korea's export income, currently heavily reliant on semiconductors and manufacturing goods.
"The Oscar win for Parasite definitely raised the level of curiosity about the film, the filmmaker, and even Korean culture, but it's too early to tell if this will be sustained," said Professor Hye Jean Chung of Kyung Hee University, adding that even before Bong's win, global cinephiles were already familiar with Korean cinema and directors, paying attention to film festival favorites including Bong, Park Chan-wook, Lee Chang-dong, and Hong Sang-soo
"In any case, I'm anticipating that this win will raise the visibility of Korean cinema as a whole. Most likely Hollywood will take notice and consider more opportunities to collaborate and invest in the production of Korean films, as in the case of 'The Wailing' (Na Hong-jin, 2016)," she said.
Dr. Choi Jin-hee, a reader in Film Studies at King's College London, said she has seen a slow growth in Korean dramas and films over the last few decades, compared to students' interest in Japanese film and anime in the past.
She was cautious about predicting a dramatic leap for Korean cinema.
"I don't foresee the Korean film industry changing dramatically with Bong's success. Korean directors such as Kim Ji-woon or Park Chan-wook have worked within the US film industry and elsewhere (in the case of Park) and changes have already been taking place for some time now: Netflix and Chinese production companies have been investing in Korean dramas and films for a few years already."
