hankyoreh

The Korean Film Council (KOFIC) announced its official decision on Jan. 25 to offer the Association for Diversity in Korean Film and the Institute for Citizen Visual Culture (ICVC) contracts to manage South Korea’s cinema and film screening space and its media education and support center.

Since 2002, the Association of Korean Independent Film and Video (KIFV) has conferred the contracts together with KOFIC to two organization that were responsible for serving as founders as well as stewards of these same duties, Indiespace and Mediact respectively. The new chairman of KOFIC, Cho Hee-Moon, is the second appointed during the Lee Myung-bak administration and has broken off from KIFV with its decision to dismantle both organizations. Indiespace, renown for serving as a venue dedicated to screening independent Korean films of all genres, lengths and formats, was shut down in December. Mediact’s staff that have been responsible for launching South Korea’s first media center and supporting the growth of what has become a network of over 20 local media centers across the country are being forced to resign and vacate the space it has run since the organization’s inauguration in Seoul’s Gwangwhamun neighborhood by Feb. 1.

The two selected and newly created organizations consist of conservative figures from South Korea’s film society. The head of newly established ICVC is Kim Jong-guk, adjunct professor of the Hongik Graduate School of Film and Digital Media and director of conservative civic organization Forum for Future Culture. His organization has been granted funding to launch the Visual Media Center.

Independent filmmakers, media activists, representatives of numerous civil society organizations and various communities that have been impacted by the work of Indiespace and Mediact are strongly objecting to KOFIC’s decision. One KIFV official speaking on KOFIC’s decision said, “Since those two projects emerged out of a proposal that originated from KIFV and Mediact’s record of facilities management contributed positively to KIFV’s reputation, KOFIC’s decision is completely unreasonable.” One filmmaker who spoke on the condition of anonymity said, “KOFIC’s decision gives into the interests of the conservative pro-government organization that has no expertise in this area.” This view is being shared by several independent filmmakers and media activists who appear to be especially concerned about the qualifications of ICVC staff and the story behind the organization’s founding.

ICVC became a legal entity on Jan. 6, just nine days few before KOFIC’s decision to open up a public selection process for deciding new managers to lead the country’s leading public media center was announced.

KIFV Secretary General Ko Young-jae is alleging that KOFIC made an internal decision before the public contest was announced. Ko is demanding that KOFIC make public the application materials submitted by the organizations that have been selected.

Mediact staff together with representatives from the Korean Network of Media Activists held a press conference on Jan. 27 in front of KOFIC’s main office located in Seoul’s Hongreung neighborhood protesting KOFIC’s decision and offered a statement that said, “KOFIC’s decision to switch out management despite Mediact’s positive evaluation record is incomprehensible.” One representative said, “We are very concerned about handing over the media center’s management to ICVC because there is no proof to demonstrate that it has any experience in running a media center.“

One woman spoke out at the press conference on behalf of the thousands of elderly, women, people with disabilities, migrant workers, teachers, children, and people living in regions outside of Seoul that have participated in workshops and trainings facilitated at Mediact or media policy created by its staff. Her voice was joined in spirit by sentiments expressed by several individuals from Japan, who wrote in statements by the time of the press conference to protest against KOFIC’s decision, and called Mediact “one of the most valuable media centers in East Asia.”

Another filmmaker said that an international campaign endorsed by filmmakers and media activists from 28 countries is forming, and all are alarmed by what KOFIC’s decision signals in terms of the direction the film industry and media policy in South Korea are taking. The same filmmaker said a petition that includes organizational endorsements that range from Community Media Forum Europe, Community Communication section of IAMCR (a UNESCO-co-founded research association), and the Anti-Privatisation Forum of South Africa to testify to the international leadership and reputation of Mediact is being sent into KOFIC and the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism.

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