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Bulsajo
Joined: 16 Jan 2003
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 Posted: Wed Feb 15, 2006 1:42 pm Post subject: Culture Treaty Couldn't Save Korea from Hollywood |
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Article may be of interest to some here:
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Embassy, February 15th, 2006
NEWS STORY
By Luke Eric Peterson
Culture Treaty Couldn't Save Korea from Hollywood
As a negotiation strategy, it wasn't exactly one for the Korean textbooks.
Before free trade talks were officially launched this month between the United States and South Korea, Asia's third largest economy had already caved to U.S. pressure, agreeing to gut a popular policy which has been credited for nurturing Korea's celebrated film industry.
Since the late 1960s, Korean law dictated that local cinemas screen domestic films for a minimum of 146 days per year. The policy has long been in the crosshairs of the Motion Pictures Association of America (MPAA), which objects to the marginalization of U.S. films in Korea. With Hollywood wielding enough political clout to bar the door to trade talks with the United States, a reduction in the quota-system was always going to be the price of admission for Korea.
And, after resisting U.S. pressure for years, the Korean government announced late last month that it would agree to halve its screen quota immediately. Further reductions in the quota are widely expected.
Remarkably, Korea's capitulation to MPAA demands comes mere months after the conclusion of an international treaty which was supposed to strengthen the hands of governments in protecting local cultural industries.
The UNESCO Convention on Cultural Diversity was concluded last October to great fanfare, with only the U.S. and Israel failing to sign on to the agreement. Yet, the newly minted Convention proved impotent in preventing Korea from abandoning its own successful cultural policies.
Ultimately, a free trade pact with the United States proved too tantalizing a prospect for a Korean government, which has aspirations to be the economic hub of Asia. Government economists are already tallying up the potential economic gains of a deal with the United States. They're also promising the cultural sector a massive injection of new cash in an effort to compensate for the lost protection of the screen quota policy.
But don't count on Korea's cultural community to fall silent. While the country's films enjoy international prominence, Korea is also no slouch when it comes to street performance.
Some times the spectacle can be tragic, as was the case when a Korean farmer stabbed himself to death at a 2003 rally against global trade talks. At other times, the performances are worth their weight in PR gold, as has been the case with a succession of carefully choreographed appearances by Korean screen idols to picket outside government buildings. The Korea Herald reports that one such picket had to be shut down after a crush of fans turned out to catch a glimpse of the country's top movie star, Jang Dong-gun.
Plans are afoot for mass protests this week, when activists from around the world will descend on Seoul to rally in support of cultural diversity.
Meanwhile, Korea's highly-subsidized farmers are also gearing up to oppose U.S. trade talks which threaten to reduce barriers to foreign food imports. The farmers scored a victory of sorts earlier this month when they shut down a public meeting where officials were to discuss the proposed trade deal.
With so much public opposition, the U.S.-Korea negotiations won't be easy to conclude. Negotiators have less than a year to sew up a deal, before U.S. President George W. Bush loses his fast-track negotiating power -- after which the U.S. Congress will once again reassert its right to examine every clause of the proposed trade agreements with a fine tooth comb.
(While U.S. and Korean negotiators race against the clock, Canada could find itself on the outside looking in. Canada launched trade negotiations with Korea last July, and several rounds of talks have already taken place. But, with a finite number of negotiators at its disposal, the Korean government might concentrate its resources and energies on the more luminous U.S. prize.)
Even if negotiations between the U.S. and Korea should fall apart, Hollywood has already secured its prize. The MPAA, in a press release, adds that its "ultimate goal is a global market for films and filmed entertainment unimpeded by the artificialities of government policies."
There may be a lesson here for the global movement of non-governmental organizations and culture vultures who long championed a global treaty on cultural diversity, only to see that treaty rendered irrelevant by hardball U.S. trade negotiating tactics. Joining hands to conclude feel-good treaties at UNESCO is of little consequence if countries are left isolated when it comes to engaging in global trade negotiations.
Indeed, the more salutary experience of several Eastern European governments -- which recently wriggled out of onerous trade commitments with the United States -- provides a stark contrast with Korea's recent fate.
When the European Union added 10 new member-states in 2003, the trading bloc demanded that new entrants like Poland and the Czech Republic amend their existing economic agreements with the United States. While the United States balked, the EU insisted that the agreements either be amended, or torn up altogether.
The European Commission, the EU's powerful Executive branch, didn't like that these old economic agreements tied the hands of Central and Eastern European governments when it came to introducing audio-visual policies which favoured local TV, cinematic or musical productions.
After a brief diplomatic stand-off, the United States quietly agreed to revise its lop-sided agreements with the new EU member-countries, rather than risk seeing the agreements terminated at the insistence of EU officials.
In other words, thanks to the negotiating muscle of the powerful European Union, a number of Eastern and Central European governments once again enjoy the freedom to introduce cultural policies which carve out a place of prominence for local content -- the very same sort of policies which are now being torn down in Korea.
The lesson for other governments should be abundantly clear. In fact, it's one that you can readily glean from one of my favorite U.S. television exports, The Sopranos: If you want protection from bullying tactics, you need to join a crew.
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http://www.embassymag.ca/html/index.php?display=story&full_path=/2006/february/15/hollywood/ |
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mindmetoo
Joined: 02 Feb 2004
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| Posted: Wed Feb 15, 2006 9:15 pm Post subject: |
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| Koreans will save themselves. Unlike my fellow Canadians, Koreans seem to prefer seeing their movies over American movies. I think the quota system is a bit outdated. Korean cinema can stand on its own. |
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ajgeddes
Joined: 28 Apr 2004
Location: Yongsan
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| Posted: Wed Feb 15, 2006 9:56 pm Post subject: |
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| Unlike my fellow Canadians, Koreans seem to prefer seeing their movies over American movies. |
What Canadian movies are you talking about? "Men with Brooms"?
American movies may as well be Canadian movies anyways. A large percentage of the actors/actresses are Canadian, and Canada counts as part of the domestic market for movies anyways. |
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chiaa
Joined: 23 Aug 2003
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| Posted: Wed Feb 15, 2006 10:18 pm Post subject: |
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"Plans are afoot for mass protests this week, when activists from around the world will descend on Seoul to rally in support of cultural diversity. "
Cultural diversity only when Korean industry and economics will not be affected.
Perhaps Korean actors will learn how to act a bit better and writers will come up with more creative story line than just the typical love triangle (disclaimer: Korean film is either gold or pure shit. this screen quoted will cut down on the shit for sure). |
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mishlert
Joined: 13 Mar 2003
Location: On the 3rd rock from the sun
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| Posted: Thu Feb 16, 2006 12:04 am Post subject: |
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| Since the late 1960s, Korean law dictated that local cinemas screen domestic films for a minimum of 146 days per year. |
Back when the movie theaters had one, maybe 2 screens.
Now there are multiplexes, like Megabox and CGV all over Korea in small and large cities; Seosan, a city of about 200,000 has a 6plex, plus another theater with 2 screens.
So halving the quota won't be noticed by the regular Korean because a place like Megabox in COEX, with 16 screens can show domestic and Hollywood films for as long as they want. |
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Octavius Hite
Joined: 28 Jan 2004
Location: Househunting, looking for a new bunker from which to convert the world to homosexuality.
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| Posted: Sat Feb 18, 2006 12:47 am Post subject: |
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There are two reasons that not much will change:
1. Koreans speak a different language than Americans, literally. We see this in Quebec where french language films do consistantly well (Quebec is the only part of Canada that has a viable, profit generating, Canadian cinema industry). The language barrier will protect Korean films no matter what else happens.
2. While the quota is getting smaller they are still not allowing US firms to own the distribution and exhibition centers. In Canada all films are distributed and exhibited by American companies so Canadian films are rarley ever shown.
It is these two reasons that not much is really going to change. |
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mindmetoo
Joined: 02 Feb 2004
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| Posted: Sat Feb 18, 2006 5:56 am Post subject: |
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| ajgeddes wrote: |
| Quote: |
| Unlike my fellow Canadians, Koreans seem to prefer seeing their movies over American movies. |
What Canadian movies are you talking about? "Men with Brooms"?
American movies may as well be Canadian movies anyways. A large percentage of the actors/actresses are Canadian, and Canada counts as part of the domestic market for movies anyways. |
Men with Brooms was a rather sad joke. Most of the best Canadian films are French Canadian. It's 2006 and most people still talk of Going Down the Road as the height of English Canadian cinema. Quebec dumps a lot of money into its film industry, for sure, but the language barrier does keep the best French talent local. Good English Canadian film makers and other talent find it much, much easier to head south.
However, there are some good English Canadian movie makers like Atom Egoyan that can't find a Canadian audience. |
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Ya-ta Boy
Joined: 16 Jan 2003
Location: Established in 1994
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| Posted: Sun Feb 19, 2006 1:34 am Post subject: |
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Maybe it was mentioned in the parts of the article I didn't skim, but Korean movies didn't get popular with Koreans until the last time the quota was cut. In '99?
Why did they get popular? Because the quality got better.
While I'm a bit more sympathetic to the movie quota because of the culture component, mostly I object because it's also an example of Korea's mercantilist philosophy of exporting all it can and importing as little as it can get away with. |
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Hollywoodaction
Joined: 02 Jul 2004
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| Posted: Sun Feb 19, 2006 4:42 am Post subject: |
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| mindmetoo wrote: |
| Koreans will save themselves. Unlike my fellow Canadians, Koreans seem to prefer seeing their movies over American movies. I think the quota system is a bit outdated. Korean cinema can stand on its own. |
Exactly. Try seeing a non-Korean movie at the theatre and you'll find slim pickings. |
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Hollywoodaction
Joined: 02 Jul 2004
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| Posted: Sun Feb 19, 2006 4:45 am Post subject: |
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| mindmetoo wrote: |
| ajgeddes wrote: |
| Quote: |
| Unlike my fellow Canadians, Koreans seem to prefer seeing their movies over American movies. |
What Canadian movies are you talking about? "Men with Brooms"?
American movies may as well be Canadian movies anyways. A large percentage of the actors/actresses are Canadian, and Canada counts as part of the domestic market for movies anyways. |
Men with Brooms was a rather sad joke. Most of the best Canadian films are French Canadian. It's 2006 and most people still talk of Going Down the Road as the height of English Canadian cinema. Quebec dumps a lot of money into its film industry, for sure, but the language barrier does keep the best French talent local. Good English Canadian film makers and other talent find it much, much easier to head south.
However, there are some good English Canadian movie makers like Atom Egoyan that can't find a Canadian audience. |
Then again, it doesn't seem to affect distribution. I've seen "La Grande séduction" about 5 times on TV here, among other films and TV shows from Quebec. |
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