How Korean Films Are Taking Over the World’s Film Festivals

The cinema industry has always valued diversity, but to be honest, for a very long time, film festivals were dominated by Western countries. There was a common belief that films and series shot in Asian countries would not appeal to anyone other than Asians. This was true to some extent: for a while, the Asian film industry did produce products that appealed to a certain audience. However, this is changing rapidly, and Korean films and series, in particular, are now finding much more recognition: you can see them at almost every festival.

So, what is the reason for this? What did the Korean cinema industry do right to achieve this success? We will try to answer the questions below, but do not forget that you have options other than movies to have a good time. For example, you can visit the Roulette77 platform and try roulette options by Playtech for free.

It All Started with Parasite

We can easily say that Korean cinema started to attract attention in Western countries with the movie Parasite. What we mean here is the attention of the wider audience: film critics and professionals were interested in Korean films and series before this. However, Parasite winning the Best Picture Oscar as a non-English movie made regular viewers aware of the existence of Korean cinema.

Streaming platforms, especially during the pandemic, ensured this was not a passing interest. We watch Korean films or series on almost every platform, especially Netflix, and some of them have been successful on a global level. Here are some examples:

Now, you can even find a “K-Drama” category on almost all of these streaming services. No matter which one you subscribe to, you’ll see new Korean movies and series being added regularly: Koreans are constantly producing new things.

Film festivals love them too

It would not be wrong to say that this interest was quickly reflected in film festivals, too. Both global and local festivals have been showing interest in Korean cinema for a long time, but this peaked after 2010. Cannes, Venice, Toronto, Berlin, and more – no matter which festival you go to, you will see Korean films competing in different categories, and you can be sure that many of them will return with an award. Koreans can bring to the big screen some things that Western cinema has forgotten, with a touch of their own culture, and they are not afraid to try new things: this is one of the main reasons they attract attention and win awards. If you want to watch some examples, you can take a look at the films recommended by the Cannes Film Festival:

• Chihwaseon – Painted Fire (2002 – Festival de Cannes award)
• Old Boy (2003- Grand Prix award)
• Secret Sunshine (2007- Best Actress Award)
• Poetry (2010 – Best Screenplay Award)
• Arirang (2011 – Un Certain Regard Prize)
• Safe (2013 – Palme d’Or award)
• Gisaengchung – Parasite (2019 – Palme d’Or and Academy Award for Best Picture)
• Heaven: To the Land of Happiness (2020 – Official Selection at Cannes)
• Heojil Kyolshim – Decision to Leave (2022 – Best Director Award)
• Broker (2022 – Best Actor Award)

But what are the other factors that contributed to the success of Korean cinema? Why are Koreans more successful than other Asian countries? This success might be attributed to the influence of “Hallyu”.

The Hallyu Effect

Hallyu means “Korean wave.” In the early 1990s, the country’s industrial giants (Samsung, Hyundai, etc.) began investing in the media industry, and by the early 2000s, Korea had become a “cultural export” country. K-pop is the best-known example: Korean pop music groups have an incredible fan base in Western countries, meaning the local culture has already been known in the US and Europe for a long time. In addition to the success of Parasite and the interest of streaming platforms during the pandemic, it became inevitable that Korean films and series would be successful.

Other Asian countries do not have a “hallyu” effect, so countries other than Korea are not as successful, at least for now. However, this is also a situation that is likely to change: Western countries are showing increasing interest in Asian cinema, and the influence of Chinese-based studios in the film industry continues to grow.

As long as Koreans do not fall into the “quantity over quality” trap, no one expects the current situation to change. But even if that happens, there are other Asian countries ready to take their place. In other words, the influence of Asian culture on Western cinema is likely to continue for a long time to come.