Influence of Film Market Opening by Foreign Film-makers on the Korean Film : Pros and Cons for the Korean Film Market with regard to Globalization

초록

Korean government opened its film market in 1987, allowing foreign (mostly Hollywood) movie distributors selling their movies in Korea, which was accomplished by persistent requests from the U.S. film industry. Beforehand, foreigners were barred from entering the market and Korean movie producers relied mainly on revenues garnered by importing and distributing foreign movies. Opening the market entailed many changes in the film industry. Unlike the majority of argument that it would bring the crisis for Korean national cinema meaning decreasing quantity and quality, however, a different viewpoint is provided by this study. I try to find out that Korean film industry is getting healthier providing a better business environment for producers who try to make quality Korean movies. In this study, I not only discern the key factors which brought positive influences on the performance of national cinema overall, but also address negative effects on the Korean market.