SOUTH KOREA: SOUTH KOREAN ACTORS AND FILM MAKERS PROTEST AGAINST MOVE TO QUOTA SYSTEM THAT ENSURES KOREAN MOVIES ARE SHOWN IN CINEMAS

Record ID: 503858

  • Title: SOUTH KOREA: SOUTH KOREAN ACTORS AND FILM MAKERS PROTEST AGAINST MOVE TO QUOTA SYSTEM THAT ENSURES KOREAN MOVIES ARE SHOWN IN CINEMAS
  • Date: 4th December 1998
  • Summary: SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA (DECEMBER 4, 1998) (RTV) HAS PROTESTERS CARRYING BIER AT A MOCK FUNERAL PROCESSION PAN DOWN "BODY" MADE OF FILM SV (SOUNDBITE) (English) JONATHAN KIM, MOVIE PRODUCER OF HAN MAC ENTERTAINMENT SAYING: "As you know there is trade talks going on between Korea and the United States at the moment and the United States government is asking us to abolish the
  • Embargoed: 19th December 1998 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA
  • Country: South Korea
  • Reuters ID: LVA9K6OLOSTTDYQHYOQHVDBDTR5X
  • Story Text: South Korean actors and film makers have been protesting a move to end a quota system that ensures Korean movies are shown in movie houses.
    The United States has demanded an end to the system.
    Hundreds of protesters, holding up funeral pictures and big banners, staged a rally in Myongdong Cathedral to signify the "death of Korean cinema."
    Protesters waved signs reading: South Korean movies have no future with no screen quota system The United States pressed South Korea to end the quota system during recent talks aimed at easing investment barriers between the two nations.Details of the pact are still being negotiated.
    South Korean law requires theatres screen Korean movies for 146 days a year.
    "If you don't have a screen quota there would be no theatres playing Korean movies which means that there will be less Korean movies made in the future.This is the death of the death of the movie industry," said Jonathan Kim, a South Korean movie producer.
    Many actors and actresses showed up at the rally to show their support, including Kang Soo-yeun, winner of Best Actress in the World Film Festivals in Moscow and Montreal.
    Several actors and protesters marched to the United States Embassy to deliver a statement of protest to U.S.ambassador, Stephen Bosworth.Dozens of police were stationed outside in case violence broke out.
    Representatives of the Korean film industry also expressed frustration that the government would not reveal its negotiating position on the screen quota system.
    Officials at South Korea's Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade said they would not reveal details of negotiations with the U.S.Trade Representative before an agreement was struck.
    "The screen quota system is against the principle of liberalisation," said one official."But our position is that we cannot scrap the system for the time being because it's such a sensitive political and cultural issue."
    He said the government would seek some sort of a compromise with the United States.
    "We are trying to reduce the number of days theatres are required to show Korean films as a compromise," he said.
    Blockbuster Hollywood movies can sell out Korean movie theatres for weeks, while Korean films usually attract smaller audiences.
    The quota system has been viewed as an obstacle to international investment in theatres.
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
  • Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2015. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
  • Usage Terms/Restrictions: None
Register