Screen quotas

060326LEE JOON GI 李凖基 이준기 イ・ジュンギSCREEN QUOTA DIALOGUE WITH LATE PRESIDENT

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• published: 04 Jun 2010
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SOURCE DAUM NEWS CREDIT TO http://iheart-junki.blog.friendster.com/ On the 23rd of March 2006, Korean President Roh Moo-Hyun and the representative for Korean actors, Lee Jun Ki discussed the problem of regulating the quota of local movies over Korea's five largest websites on the program "Chatting online with the citizens". As the star of the top-grossing local movie in Korea's history, King and the Clown, Lee Jun Ki suggested the problem of movie quotas had some symbolism. Earlier that year on January 21, Roh had watched King and the Clown, and so this dialogue with the star attracted the attention of many Koreans. Roh asked questions like "How is the screening of King and the Clown going? Are audiences still watching it? What were you called in the film? Gong gil?" to open the session. When Lee Jun Ki asked if the reduction in the quota could be reconsidered, Roh shot back with, "Do you honestly have that little faith in Korean movies gaining 40%-50% of the market without the quota? He went on to say, "The movie industry people seem to be a little biased on the problem of reducting Korean movie quotas, saying this move symbolises surrendering to pressure from the USA. Please be assured that we are a sovereign country and the decisions we make will not have any ill-effects on the country." Lee Jun Ki replied, "It's not that we lack faith. However, the quotas are one of the ways in which our country's culture is protected, how can they be reduced just like that? The Korean market for movies is so much smaller than the market for American movies. Although we Korean movie industry people are working hard at producing stellar movies, we are worried that if the quotas are reduced, then our movies may not even get the chance to be screened to audiences. Roh said in reply, "Your campaign against the reduction of quotas seems to harbour feelings of resentment at having to bow to pressure from the US. But as long as we have faith, I believe there is no problem. Recently I was in Egypt, and whether in Egypt or Mexico, Korean dramas are very popular. Culture's multi-faceted personality is shaped through interaction with many other cultures. THe government actually has many solutions to combat the problems arising from the quota reduction, but you movie industry people refuse to communicate with the government, then how should we help? To President Roh's long reply, Lee Jun Ki simply replied, "As an actor I will do my best to produce many more good movies." (For more than two decades, South Korea had kept a protective quota system, under which all domestic cinemas should screen homegrown films for at least 146 days a year. The system was halved to 73 days early 2006 as part of Seoul's trade deal with Washington)