MKC Thought Leaders' Corner: January 2013

Welcome to the first MKC Thought Leaders' Corner! We are thrilled to present this new feature where every month we will ask the top experts on Korean cinema a pressing question regarding the Korean film industry.

Without further ado, here is this month's question:

Given the enormous success of Korean cinema in 2012, is there any cause for concern over a rise in streamlined productions as quality gives way to financial interests?

Many to thanks to all the contributors for their time and insightful comments. Responses listed alphabetically, followed by the thoughts of MKC's teammembers.

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KBO: Miracle in Cell No.7 Dominates the Chart (01/25-01/27, 2012)

Miracle in Cell No.7 Dominates the Chart

	Title	Release Date	Market Share	Weekend	Total	Screens
1	Miracle in Cell No.7	13/01/23	42.00%	1,238,809	1,628,475	769
2	Man on the Edge	13/01/09	16.50%	482,961	3,469,054	542
3	Pororo: The Racing Adventure	13/01/23	10.30%	296,695	342,773	451
4	Hotel Transylvania (us)	13/01/17	5.70%	179,874	707,925	357
5	Les Miserables (uk/us)	12/19/12	5.40%	156,426	5,629,952	344
6	Jack Reacher (us)	13/01/17	4.00%	116,100	727,261	320
7	The Impossible (sp/us)	13/01/17	3.20%	97,402	559,576	242
8	Life of Pie (us)	13/01/09	4.60%	86,099	1,480,176	155
9	The Tower	12/25/12	2.80%	83,963	5,133,494	261
10	Conan: the Movie (jp)	13/01/24	2.50%	82,108	102,059	139

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New Korean Films: Pororo Is Back (2013 Week 4)

(by Fabien Schneider)

While last week we had two completely different visions of sexuality and extramarital affairs, this week seems rather to adopt the theme of mental disability, and once more with a production for general audiences on one hand and an independent film on the other. The Korean animation is also set to disrupt the schoolyards, since it is none other Pororo, the president of children, who celebrates his 10th birthday.

Pororo, The Racing Adventure (뽀로로 극장판 슈퍼썰매 대모험) 

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Padak (파닥파닥, Padak Padak) 2012

(by Rex Baylon)

Although the United States and Japan have a far more illustrious history when it comes to producing animated features, South Korea has been the industry’s worst kept secret for many decades. At first, merely an outsource center for foreign filmmakers who needed a platoon of talented but cheap inkers and illustrators, this long overshadowed country has in the past few years emerged as a real contender within the animation field. And even though Korea hasn’t produced an animation studio with a ready-made and recognizable style like Pixar in America or Ghibli in Japan this situation has allowed many young animators to forge ahead and create their own unique works, regardless of global economic interests.

In 2011 alone, Yeun Sang-ho’s bleak revenge drama King of Pigs and popular children’s picture Leafie, A Hen into the Wild were released and both attained a level of unexpected success. The former as a searing indictment of school bullying became a critical darling on the festival circuit while the latter became South Korea’s most financially successful animated feature, raking in 2.2 million ticket sales. Unlike the American and Japanese markets that produce content to be exported and exploited by foreign interests these two films were created primarily for Korean audiences with no real expectations that they could travel outside their country of origin. And though a lot of the domestic output by Korean animators is influenced a great deal by the West and Japan their work does have an indelible personal stamp to it. Thus the quality of the animation being released is not only equal to those produced in America or Asia but the films themselves are still inarguably Korean.

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KBO: Man on the Edge Maintains its Edge (01/18-01/20, 2012)

Man on the Edge Maintains its Edge

	Title	Release Date	Market Share	Weekend	Total	Screens
1	Man on the Edge	13/01/09	31.40%	876,555	2,501,068	603
2	Jack Reacher (us)	13/01/17	14.00%	389,003	465,281	431
3	Hotel Transylvania (us)	13/01/17	11.50%	335,707	393,587	489
4	The Impossible (sp/us)	13/01/17	9.70%	277,529	339,730	408
5	Les Miserables (uk/us)	12/19/12	9.70%	271,876	5,317,090	373
6	The Tower	12/25/12	9.10%	259,016	4,941,668	406
7	Life of Pie (us)	13/01/09	8.50%	169,036	1,316,624	279
8	The Reef 2: High Tide (us/kr)	13/01/10	1.70%	51,573	248,266	235
9	Cloud Atlas (us)	13/01/09	1.80%	48,035	426,480	235
10	Love 911	12/19/12	0.60%	16,333	2,469,056	97

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New Korean Films: Steamy Winter (2013 Week 3)

(by Fabien Schneider)

Despite all the snow that has recently covered the Korean peninsula, there will be no need this week to adjust the radiators to warm up all the movie-goers. By a strange coincidence that only the distribution companies bosses can explain, the two Korean movies opening this week are adults-only, due to their racy content. It will be very interesting to compare their approach and the resulting public reception. In fact, I could have also included in this article the co-produced (China, Korea and Japan) Speed ​​Angels, but I hesitated as it is more of a Chinese film shot in South Korea, and anyway the critics have reported that it’s not indispensable.

Tummy (배꼽)

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KBO: Man on the Edge Edges Out Competition (01/11-01/13, 2012)

Man on the Edge Edges Out Competition

	Title	Release Date	Market Share	Weekend	Total	Screens
1	Man on the Edge	13/01/09	30.10%	796,748	1,029,672	599
2	The Tower	12/25/12	19.10%	512,677	4,455,084	482
3	Les Miserables (uk/us)	12/19/12	13.20%	351,246	4,825,497	410
4	Life of Pie (us)	13/01/01	12.80%	246,741	1,019,831	312
5	Cloud Atlas (us)	13/01/09	8.40%	213,580	299,644	382
6	The Reef 2: High Tide (us/kr)	13/01/10	4.60%	129,992	151,226	298
7	My Little Hero	13/01/09	3.10%	85,624	121,372	324
8	Love 911	12/19/12	3.20%	84,309	2,414,195	257
9	Wreck-it Ralph (us)	12/19/12	1.70%	48,509	893,331	220
10	Zambezi (us)	12/25/12	1.10%	31,011	454,896	141

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