Monopoly and the movies

At a glance, South Korean cinema seems to be having a renaissance. In a world where Hollywood blockbusters dominate the screen, local films grabbed a market share of 60 per cent in 2013, double that of US titles.

Another milestone was reached this summer with the release of “Roaring Currents”, which attracted more than 17 million viewers, the largest number in Korean cinema history. The previous record was 13 million set by the 2009 Hollywood sci-fi flick “Avatar”.

This means that one in every 2.8 people in this country of 50 million has watched the story of Admiral Yi Sun-sin, one of the country’s most revered heroes from the Joseon era (1392-1910).

Critics cite a combination of factors for the film’s success: the story of a true hero when Koreans long for someone to look up to and lessons on morality and leadership, all peppered with cinematic brilliance. Nevertheless, the film’s triumph reignited a heated debate over the conglomerate-controlled film industry and how its moneymaking machine works to churn out megahits at the price of diversity.

“To me, the figure – 17 million – is not something that I can be just happy about, because it invokes some very profound and weighty issues,” Kim Han-min, the film’s director, said at a forum held on October 8 in Busan.

It is a familiar story with the Korean economy and its towering conglomerates, but the Korean film industry, too, is led by a few large firms that control all levels of the filmmaking process – from investing and distributing to screening.

The first chaebol – Korean business conglomerate – to enter the film market was Samsung in 1992, but following the 1997 financial crisis the company backed out.

The second generation was paved by CJ, Lotte and Orion, which entered the market through CJ Entertainment, Lotte Entertainment and Showbox-Mediaplex, respectively.

A small but strong rookie player, Next World Entertainment, emerged in 2008, rolling out box-office hits including. “Miracle in Cell No 7” and “The Attorney”, which both exceeded the 10 million viewer mark in 2013.

These four major distributors now occupy more than 90 per cent of the South Korean film-market share. Two have their own theatres – CJ CGV and Lotte Cinema – the nation’s two largest multiplex chains.

This vertical integration has improved efficiency, channelled more investments into local films and helped bring larger audiences to cinemas.

At the same time, low-budget and art-house films face certain barriers, insiders say.

“It is no longer news when distributors who have their own theatres promote their films and give them preferential treatment over other films,” said Choi Yong-bae, vice chairman of the Korean Film Producers Association, at a forum on the monopoly in the Korean film market held at the National Assembly in September. “They give priority to their films by giving them more screens and more seats, better time slots and arrays of promotions and advertisements in the theatre.”

For this reason, many films by small companies end up not being advertised, are screened during less popular time periods and disappear from theatres after only a few weeks, and it has become increasingly harder for indie films to survive.

“I knew at first that screening my film ‘Another Promise’ in February would be difficult because all the companies I approached decided not to invest in the film in the first place,” said director Kim Tae-yun at the National Assembly forum.

Kim was able to raise funds through crowd-funding and produce the film, which is based on a true story about a worker who contracted leukaemia while working at a Samsung Semiconductor factory. “But I didn’t realise screening would be this difficult.”

His film had secured around 300 screens for the premiere. But on the film’s opening week, one large theatre chain backed out without giving a reason. The film was screened at only a handful of screens around the nation.

“There are countless films out there that won’t get a chance to be screened due to politics of conglomerates and [Korea’s] investor-centred industry,” said the director, stressing that a film’s life and death is determined by large conglomerates.

A lack of diversity is also an issue for movie fans.

Lee Hyun-woo, an office worker in his 20s, says he wishes to see more art house films in the theatre. “I am disappointed when some films disappear from the theatre after only a week.”

Another frequent theatregoer, Kim Young-eun, 33, says, “Sometimes, the films I want to watch in the theatre are scheduled during an awkward time such as early in the morning or very late at night, because they are less popular than the blockbusters.

“So I end up watching any film that is on when I visit the theatre.”

As calls for change grow, 26 organisations, including representatives from major film organisations, three major multiplex chains (CJ CGV, Lotte Cinema and Megabox) and four major distributors (CJ E&M, Lotte Entertainment, Showbox and NEW), gathered on October 1 to enter into a voluntary industry pact calling for fairer competition.

The agreement requires theatres to disclose their screen allotment criteria and guarantee that all films are screened for at least a week.

“We have to ask ourselves, ‘Who are we making movies for?’” says director Kim Tae-yun.

“For the Korean film industry to prosper in the long term, the industry and the government have to provide a stage where small companies and creative directors can freely produce diverse and unique films,” says Choi of the producers’ association.