I’m really thrilled. It is an honor for him and a remarkable achievement of the whole circle of Korean film at the same time. The Korean Film Council (KOFIC) held ‘Korean Film Night’ party at the Venice a Film Festival for the first time in 7 years. All the cineastes at the party seemed to be highly praising KIM’s Pieta . KIM has a high reputation in Europe and his films are also very popular. At the Venice Film Festival, He assured it once again.

 

 

KIM’s first scenario won at a contest held by KOFIC. We have supported him with film production many times since. Especially as we covered 50% of the marketing for Pieta , so we are really delighted. Many foreign cineastes are envious because of the fact that KOFIC contributes to the development of Korean film in many ways. We will continue trying our best to be of help to Korean film.

 

 

2012 is the 20th anniversary of establishment of diplomatic relations between Korea and China. We have moved back and forth between the two countries to hold the ‘Korean-Chinese Film Festival’ so far. This year, to commemorate the 20th anniversary, we held a film festival on a large scale and a forum. We are also working on co-production with China. There is a limited quota for foreign films in China. However, if we make an agreement on co-production, we can screen as many films as possible without respect to the quota regulation. Another thing we did is that we opened a film business center in China. At the film business center, we will provide translation and interpretation services. The Beijing office of KOFIC is going to serve as the base for business matching and co-production between the two nations.

 

 

 

We have run the 'Co-production Incentive' Project to invest KRW 500 million (USD 446,500) in 5 films to invigorate of co-production. We worked with various countries including Japan, the United States and China. 'The Location Incentive' Project has been consistently held run, too. This is a project to support foreign films shot in Korea aiming to make foreign cineastes aware of the fact that ‘Korea has good locations to make films.’

 

 

Whereas out initial goal was to let Korean films be known to the world through foreign film festivals, now we are working on industrial development and local expansion. Merely exporting Korean films is not enough. We need to export excellent manpower including directors, actors and staff as well as technology. When the exportation of film service industry is realized, we will have to step further and exchange film making system. We are currently cooperating with Asian countries like China and Japan, but our next target is North America, that is to say Hollywood. KIM Jee-woon, PARK Chan-wook and BONG Joon-ho are in Hollywood directing films now. This means that Hollywood is also looking for new contents to expand to Asia. It is time for Korean film to find its own role. It will play a role as the window of Asia and bridge to Hollywood. Co-production with foreign countries will be vitalized more and more. What has been surprising news until now will start to sound very natural from now on. The change has already started.

 

 

  
Of the 3 years of my term, 1 and a half have passed. When I was appointed as the chairman, I had 3 goals. First, I wanted to forward the Korean film market to the world. Second, I wanted to build a win-win environment for both big enterprises and the film industry. Last, I wanted to create a new paradigm by starting the age of KOFIC in Busan. I think I’m on the right track to achieve all the goals. We gained a foothold from film exchange with China and are heading for American market. We established the Declaration of Cooperative Growth for Korean Film and set 13 topics to discuss and find solutions for. As we move to Busan, we will found a new infrastructure to prepare for the future. Even if I cannot accomplish all the goals, I will make effort to draw a nice blue print my best. I’m committed to building a strong basis.