International co-productions can come in various forms. It’s often when film production companies from different countries are involved in creating a film. It’s also related to the complex role of financing. Indeed, some productions will be shot overseas using local crews and talent taking advantage of local tax breaks and incentives, and are sometimes referred to as co-productions.  

Korean cinema has an interesting history when it comes to international co-productions. While the Korean film industry was reliant on Japan during the Japanese colonial rule (1910-1945) and directors like Kim Ki-young made documentaries I Am a Truck (1953) sponsored by the United States Information Service (USIS) during the Korean War (1950-1953), some of the first palpable cultural exchanges through co-production came in the 1960s with South Korea - Hong Kong co-productions.

This week we will delve into some of these features beginning with Love with an Alien (1958) and then turning to The Last Woman of Shang (1964) and then Tyrant / The Goddess of Mercy (1967).

We’ll then profile some later examples in the contemporary industry when international co-productions with other parts of the world became more prevalent as we look at E J- Yong’s Asako In Ruby Shoes (2000), Mr. Go (2013), Snowpiercer (2013), Reach for the SKY (2014) and The Medium (2021).

Love with an Alien (1958)

The first South Korea – Hong Kong collaboration was Love with an Alien (1958) directed by South Korean filmmaker Jeon Chang-keun along with Tu Kwang-chi from Hong Kong, and Wakasugi Mitsuo from Japan.  Featuring Kim Jin-gyu-star of The Housemaid (1960) and Obaltan (1961) and Lucilla Yu Ming, it tells the story of a Korean composer (Kim) who falls in love with a local singer (Yu Ming) when he visits Hong Kong. Her mother has other plans, however, and seeks to end their relationship.

It was a transnational production also involving Japanese cinematographer Nishimoto Tadashi who was responsible for filming in color. It was rediscovered in 2012 after the Korean Film Archive discovered that a print was being stored at the Shaw Brothers production company in Hong Kong, but the print was damaged, and the sound was missing.

At a festival marking the 40^th Anniversary of the Korean Film Archive in 2014 the restored film was screened with live music and performances recreating the sound from the film. It is the oldest surviving color film archived in South Korea.

The Last Woman of Shang (1964) & Tyrant (1967)

Also notable was The Last Woman of Shang (1964) marking the first project involving Shin Sang-ok – arguably the most powerful producer and director in the Korean film industry in the 1960s – and Run Run Shaw, co-founder of the Shaw Brothers Studio. Shin who would own Shin Films would produce the film with the Shaw Brothers marking the beginning of a new era of international co-productions between the two countries and companies.

Directed by Choe In-hyeon and Yueh Feng, it follows a young woman (Linda Lin dai) who marries the Chinese emperor Chou (played by Korean actor Shin Young-kyun) in order to inflict revenge on him after he murders her father. Linda Lin dai, one of the biggest stars of the Hong Kong industry during the 1960s, took her own life at the age of 30 in July 1964, two months ahead of the film’s theatrical release in September that year. It went on to accrue 150,000 admissions making it one of the most successful films of the year leading to three other co-productions involving both studios including: Tyrant (Hong Kong title The Goddess of Mercy (1967).

While not as popular, the film was significant for casting different female leads for the different versions. Li Li-hua played the female protagonist (Princess Miao) and Shin Sang-ok’s wife, Choi Eun-hee was cast as the same character in the Korean version. The male leads played by Korean actors Kim Seung-ho and Kim Jin-gyu starred in both versions. 

Asako In Ruby Shoes (2000)

With the decline of Korean film industry in the 1970s, it wouldn’t be until the contemporary era in the 2000s and 2010s when international co-productions would become more common. E J- Yong’s Asako In Ruby Shoes (2000) was an early example of a Japan-South Korea collaboration following the removal of the ban on Japanese cultural imports in 1998.

Shot both in Japan and Korea by Korean cinematographer Hong Kyung-pyo Parasite (2019), The Wailing (2016) it centers on two different characters: an office worker in Seoul, Woo-in (Lee Jung-jae) and Aya, a Japanese woman (Misato Tachibana). Woo-in doesn’t have friends, is unsatisfied with life, and turns to pornographic websites. Aya is also lonely and struggling with life. They come into contact online.   Kim Min-hee also stars as a woman red-haired girl Woo-in meets at work.

With Japanese and Korean talent involved both in front and behind the camera including Art Director Yutaka Yokoyama, it represented a milestone in international co-productions between the two countries. It was also well-embraced by critics for how it delves into complex questions of identity.

Mr. Go (2013)

In the 2010s when admissions to Korean films were hitting 100 million annually (between 2012 and 2019), Korean studios like CJ ENM and Showbox were seeking to produce films for overseas markets. Initially, this was China with projects including Wedding Invitation (2013) and Mr. Go (2013).  Chinese remakes of Korean films also proved popular with titles such as the Chinese-Korean-Taiwanese co-production 20 Once Again (2015) (based on Hwang Dong-hyuk’s Miss Granny (2014).

Kim Yong-hwa’s Mr. Go was a co-production between Showbox and the Chinese entertainment company Huayi Brothers. Budgeted at over 20 billion won, it signified how the studios were viewing the Chinese market as key for future growth. It also marked a turning point in visual effects in Korea as it led to the birth of Dexter Studios – now one of the leading visual effects studios in Asia producing VFX not only for Korean productions but also Chinese features too (Kung Fu Yoga (2017) The Monkey King 2 (2016).

Based on Huh Young-man’s 1984 comic, The 7^th Team, it tells the story of a baseball superstar gorilla and his 15-year-old female coach played by Xu Jiao. It also featured Korean actors Sung Dong-il, Kim Hee-won, Kim Kang-woo while it also starred Japanese performer Joe Odagiri.  

Snowpiercer (2013)

Also reflecting Korea’s studios global ambitions was Bong Joon Ho’s English-language Snowpiercer (2013). This was not Korea’s first attempt at English speaking markets – Shim Hyung-rae’s Yonggary (1999) and D-War (2007) are such examples while Kwak Kyung-taek’s Typhoon (2005) also illustrated the appetite among the local studios to break into other markets.

Although Snowpiercer is a Korean film funded and distributed by CJ ENM, shot in Prague, based on a French graphic novel (Le Transperceneige) and featuring an array of talent in both the cast (Chris Evans, Tilda Swinton) and crew, it was a transnational co-production. In many respects, it marked a new chapter for Bong Joon Ho and the wider Korean film industry with Okja (2017) and the Netflix era that then followed, while its day-and-date release in the US indicated what was to come after it. Set on a train when the earth enters an ice age as those in the rear set to stage a revolution, its dystopian themes would also be echoed in Bong’s most recent film Mickey 17 (2025).

Reach for the SKY (2014)

International co-productions have also taken place outside the studio system. Jang Kun-jae’s A Midsummer’s Fantasia (2014) is one instance, which is a Korea-Japan co-production. Another interesting case is the documentary, Reach for the SKY, a co-production between Korea and Belgium directed by Choi Woo-young and Steven Dhoedt.

Cleverly titled, SKY refers to the three top universities in Korea (Seoul National University, Korea University and Yonsei University). The documentary follows retakers of the college entrance exam called Suneung that takes place every November as students seek to get into the schools of their choice. It also examines the history of the exam and places it within the wider context of Korean society.

A collaborative project with both a Korean and non-Korean director at the helm, it captures the intense process of preparing for the Seneung closeup but in a manner that is accessible for international audiences bringing in a unique perspective to what is a topic that continues to generate much attention.   

The Medium (2021)

Southeast Asia has been a region of particular focus after the THAAD missile crisis led to an unofficial ban on Korean content in China in 2016. CJ ENM has pivoted its content towards the region producing local content for markets like Vietnam The House of No Man (2023) and Indonesia Sweet 20 (2017)). Showbox has also turned to this part of the world with the project The Medium (2021) that was directed by Banjong Pisanthanakun and produced and co-written by Korea’s Na Hong-jin. It was also co-produced by Thai film studio GDH 559.

Horror films are now popular across much of the region making it unsurprising in some respects that Na Hong-jin The Wailing (2016) would team up with Banjong Pisanthanakun Alone (2007)) given their previous projects. The folk horror mockumentary follows a documentary crew who travel to Northeast Thailand to interview a medium or shaman (someone who can communicate between spirits and humans) who claims to be possessed by a local spirit. Things, however, soon take a dark and frightening turn when the Medium’s niece starts displaying disturbing behavior.

The film’s chilling atmospherics and gripping narrative that exhibited some of the traits associated with the work of Na Hong-jin performed robustly in Korea selling 834,338 tickets during the height of the Covid-19 pandemic. It premiered at the Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival (BIFAN) where it won the top prize (Best of Bucheon).

Written by Jason Bechervaise

Editted by kofic

Source : Sangjoon Lee, History of Korea-Hong Kong Production (Google art & culture, KOREAN FILM ARCHIVE)