Korea Foundation Advanced Research Grant (2008): “Korean Cinema Challenges: Transformation of Planet Hallyuwood in a Post-Golden Age”

Brian Yecies

Research program: Culture and Representation

In 2005 the South Korean cinema reached a Golden-Age peak in terms of domestic exhibition market share, film pre-sales, and the strength of a national screen quota. However, since 2006 new cultural and political pressures, including new modes of censorship, domestic competition, piracy/downloading, and reduction of the screen quota, have begun impacting on the Korean cinema’s creative energies and competitive advantages while eroding profits and secondary DVD markets. This project, which involves field research in Korea, US and China, explores the immediate ramifications and aftereffects of these issues and investigates the strategies that industry representatives are using to overcome these post- Golden-Age challenges. It analyzes the methods that are impacting on the Korean cinema’s transformation from a national to a supranational cinema or what I call ‘Planet Hallyuwood’ – the fusion of Hallyu (Korean wave) and Hollywood.