South Korea Locked in Movie Quota War

The South Korean film industry is taking on Hollywood in a heated conflict over the number of foreign films that can be shown every year in South Korea. Filmmakers in South Korea are up in arms in response to what they consider inappropriate pressure to open the South Korean market to Hollywood productions. The issue centers on a government quota that requires South Korean films to be shown in theatres 146 days out of the year. The US maintains that the screen quota is a trade barrier undermining free trade agreements between the two countries. South Koreans supporters of the quota argue that it is not designed to disrupt trade, but to protect South Korean culture of which film is an essential part. They argue that free trade agreements do not grant the prerogative to corrupt the integrity of one nation’s culture through the type of cultural imperialism the US, and Hollywood in particular are associated with. South Korean films are themselves increasingly popular both in South Korea and internationally, yet there is evidence that South Koreans also enjoy the opportunity to view foreign films, European and Hollywood. The South Korean stance has found support from countries as diverse as France, Iran and Canada. – YaleGlobal

South Korea Locked in Movie Quota War

Barbara Demick
Wednesday, November 2, 2005

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