Director Park Chan-wook pointed out that the Korean film industry is facing a major crisis.
On the 19th, British outlet The Independent published an interview with director Park Chan-wook about the film No Other Choice.
Through this interview, Park Chan-wook said that although the Korean film industry may appear to be prospering from the outside, there are worrying causes.
Park said, "Despite several films known worldwide, the fact that the Korean film industry is in a deep crisis is no secret. And that is because theaters are in grave trouble," adding, "During the pandemic audiences could not go to theaters and realized they could find entertaining things at home. And since then they have not returned to theaters."
He criticized that a vicious cycle is repeating as film companies draw the wrong lessons from the shift to streaming. Park said, "Investors have started investing less in films, and even when they do invest they do not choose bold stories. They try to find what are called 'safe' projects. As a result, even when Korean films are shown in theaters, audiences realize they are too predictable and uninteresting, attendance falls and revenue drops, and investors ultimately reduce their investment again."
He also said, "Most people do not regard films or TV as very important or sacred art forms. They think of them as just a two-hour way to pass the time or entertainment," adding, "In that sense, making paper and making films are fundamentally very similar, and it is foolish to define oneself only as a film director."
He went on, "But the truth is, I too have lived like Mansoo," adding, "While making this film I thought to myself, I should live a little less like that myself."
[Photo] OSEN DB
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