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” a documentary on occupational diseases among Samsung Electronics semiconductor plant workers by director Hong Li-gyeong. (provided by CinemaDAL)

By Kim Hyo-sil, staff reporter

A citizen fund-raising campaign is under way to support the theatrical release of “The Empire of Shame,” a documentary on occupational diseases among Samsung Electronics semiconductor plant workers by director Hong Li-gyeong.

The move comes amid a wave of support for director Kim Tae-youn’s “Another Family,” which is based on the story of one worker’s struggle with leukemia and eventual death.

The distributor, CinemaDAL, started the campaign to support the film’s release on Jan. 29 by setting the goal of raising 30 million won (US$28,200) through the social funding site Tumblbug. As of Feb. 17, it reported raising almost 18 million won (US$17,500) from 554 donors.

“It looks like people are taking more notice of ‘Empire of Shame’ as ‘Another Family’ gets more and more attention,” said Oh Bo-ra, head of planning for CinemaDAL. “The fundraising effort has been moving very quickly.”

“Empire” is set to premiere on Mar. 6, the seventh anniversary of the death of Hwang Yu-mi, a 23-year-old who had been diagnosed with leukemia while working at a Samsung Semiconductors plant in Suwon. Talks with theaters are under way for a release on 20 screens - an average number for documentaries in South Korea.

Around 40 million won (US$37,600) of the costs for making “Empire” came from various film festivals and the Korean Film Council. The distributor says that many of the production staff received “basically nothing” for their work. If raised, the 30 million won would be used to cover distribution and promotion costs.

The documentary has already been honored with an Ockrang Culture Prize at the 2012 International Women’s Film Festival in Seoul. Samsung Electronics registered a complaint with the festival‘s secretariat at the time, saying it had been given “no consideration as a sponsor.”

The company gave 30 million won in support to the festival in 2010 and 2011, and 50 million won (US$47,000) in 2012. It discontinued its sponsorship in 2013.

Hong Li-gyeong, the documentary’s director, said the films offers a different perspective on the events. “While the focus in ‘Another Family’ was on Hwang Sang-gi, the father of Hwang Yu-mi, ‘Empire’ captures the victimized workers and their families in their own voices,” she explained.

“I wanted to talk about the simple, ordinary dreams of people like Hwang Yu-mi, people who became victims at an age when they were fresh out of high school and just wanted to imagine and play.”

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