South Korea

KOREAN FILMS IN 2006 and 2007: ANALYSIS AND FUTURE OUTLOOK
Story for the Majority, Sensitivity for the Minority

While the King and The Clown opened the year, The Host set the standard. In 2006, these films generated hurricane winds that propelled them to the top. Although the King and The Clown opened in late December 2005, it proved to be so strong that it reigned at the box office throughout the first half of 2006, becoming a sort of cultural phenomenon. The film simultaneously touches on a variety of issues ranging from homosexuality to artistic self-consciousness, historical drama and romance. The Host is also driven by its own codes. Though it is a unique family film, it includes elements of science fiction and the monster film, with political overtones. These two films stand as good examples of recent trends in Chungmuro (the Korean film industry) in 2006, all of which are loaded with compounded, mixed, and multi-layered codes.

Multi-Layered Plotlines
The two films mentioned above can be characterized as compounded and multi-layered stories full of B-movie sentiments, with a nod toward social minorities. This can be taken as a sign that we have now entered a new era. Though this certainly is not 2006's only sign of things to come, it is the main reason why these two films with themes unlike those found in previous box office hits attracted over 10 million viewers. While neither of these films was connected to the strong national sentiment identified with our divided country, they nevertheless managed to attract 10 million viewers through the mere power of their views on minority sentiment...

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