hankyoreh

A photo of South Korean actor Lee Byung-hun was covering almost half of Cinemart Roppongi, a movie house in the heart of Tokyo exclusively devoted to showing Asian films, on May 16. The theater has screened 16 South Korean films since late March in a festival to mark its first anniversary, but has attracted only about 2,300 viewers during the entire festival.

When Cinemart Roppongi opened, Korean films accounted for almost 90 percent of its lineup, but now comprise about 60 percent. SPO, the theater’s operating company, has purchased the rights to more than 50 South Korean movies thus far. But SPO is worried about the drop in popularity of Korean films in Japan.

Takashi Terada, an official of SPO, said, "Frankly speaking, we were relieved because our DVD of TV drama ’Palace’ sold four or five times better than other works, but Korean movies as a whole are in trouble."

The rise of "hallyu," or the "Korean wave" of cultural products, was short-lived in Japan. Korean TV dramas such as "Winter Sonata" and the fever surrounding its star Bae Yong-joon, referred to as "Yonsama" in Japanese, were all the talk three years ago, but recent Korean films, such as "The Host" and "The King and the Clown," while domestic smash-hits, had a tough time finding an audience in Japan.

Korean film distribution rights, even deeply discounted for the Japanese market, are getting too pricey for the amount of box office they pull in. Even name-brand stars no longer equate to high ticket sales. Despite Lee Byung-hun’s reputation, ticket sales of "Once in a Summer" were just 300-400 million yen (US$2.5-3.3 million), whereas its import price was over 400 million yen. Japanese firms which import and distribute Korean films number just three or four, a more than 50-percent decrease from their peak. The average sale price of a film’s distribution rights in Japan is about 10 percent of what it once was. "No matter how cheap they are, nobody wants to buy Korean movies," said Lee Eun-gyeong of Kadogawa Pictures.

Japanese versions of Korean dramas "Full House" and "Hotelier" are being aired, but there are no more directly imported Korean drama hits such as "Winter Sonata" and "Jewel in the Palace." According to a survey performed by the Korean Broadcasting Institute (KBI), Japan’s import of Korean TV programs decreased by about 16 billion won (approximately US$17 million) in 2006 as compared to 2005. Park Tae-gyu, head of World-J, which trades in the Korean movies’ copyrights, said, "Japanese broadcasting companies tend to shun Korean dramas because they can’t guarantee audience ratings and there are no sponsors except for dramas starring Bae Yong-joon."

Others, however, said the Korean wave is just settling into place rather than cooling off forever. "Hallyu" brought about ‘mental changes,’ even if it didn’t make ‘tangible gains,’ they added. The Asahi Shimbun reported, "Korean contents stirred up what Japanese people had forgotten, and brought about a boom of Japanese novels and dramas of 1950s which express the deep, complex morass of human relations." Yuka Anjako, a researcher at Ritsumeikan, Asia Pacific University’s Korea Research Center, said that due to the exposure of Korean culture to Japan, "some kindergartens designated ‘Korea Day’ as a special event. When these children grow up, they will be able to overcome the painful past between Korea and Japan."

The hallyu has had other, less tangible benefits. Bang Sang-won, a Korean executive of Samsung in Japan, said that he now has many new topics of conversation with his Japanese business partners since they are all watching the same Korean TV dramas. The Korean wave is not just limited to media products, but has also changed the geography of cooperative relations between Korean and Japanese companies. Since Sony and Samsung Electronics formed strategic ties, Japan’s Resona Bank and Korea Exchange Bank, Sumitomo Mitsui and Kookmin Bank, Japanese oil corporation ENEOS and Korea’s SK, and Japan’s telecomunications firm NTT DoCoMO and LG Electronics, respectively, have all started cooperative projects.

Kim Mi-deok, a Korean researcher at the strategic institute of Japan’s Mitsui Corp., said, "The fact that Japan’s major enterprises have started to be moved along by the Korean wave. Since hallyu hit Japan, Japanese businesses have acknowledged the possibility of Korea, and have strategically used Korea to advance into the greater Asian community."

Please direct questions or comments to [englishhani@hani.co.kr]