KH article - Korea tries to imitate Hollywood!

Posted: 2005/02/10  By: all hail free speech (Views:2415)

Thought this article was interesting. The KH writer (Seoul Searcher) blasts the Korean
penchant for imitation rather than creation. I also wonder what those who are hatching this
"Hallyuwood" plot are thinking when they invite Japan/China to get involved. If it looks like
it will work, those 2 nations will simply start their own and leave Kimchi-land out in the
cold.

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Move over Hollywood, Hallyuwood is coming (Seoul Searcher; Korea Herald)

Quote:

Hallyuwood? It's Hollywood, right? Wrong! The local government of Gyeonggi, the province that
surrounds Seoul, announced the other day that it will build an "art and entertainment mecca"
for all of Asia in Ilsan, just west of the capital, and will name the place "Hallyuwood."

Hallyu means "Korean wave" in English. The word was coined to dub the alleged craze for
Korean movies and television dramas as well as musical performances by Korean singers and
dancers in Japan, China, Taiwan and other Southeast Asian countries. The Korean entertainment
programs are said to have become so popular in these countries in recent years that it is
fitting, according to the Korean media, to describe the trend as the Korean wave.

But where does the "wood" come from? As far as I could see, there was no wooded area near
there. In fact, the governor of Gyeonggi, who announced the plan last week, said they just
added the "wood," to Hallyu, as they intend to build the area into as famous a place as
Hollywood. The provincial government will spend some 2 trillion won to build "the next
generation entertainment hub" for Asia, on a 300,000-pyeong (one pyeong equals 3.3 square
meters) plot of land by 2008. By then, Hallyuwood will be completed with movie studios,
theaters, computer game centers, and even a star walk.

By producing movies and other entertainment products by Korean, Japanese and Chinese
interests, Hallyuwood will compete against "Western culture," represented by Hollywood, if,
that is, the Japanese and Chinese agree to go along.

It is all very well, I suppose. But I wonder why they have to call the place by that name. It
is such an obvious, crude and tasteless imitation that it will, no doubt, cause grimaces, even
cynical smiles, from many, especially Western, people who love Korean culture. The name is
inappropriate especially because they want to make it a landmark of South Korea that could be
recognized by people around the world.

The paucity of fresh and attractive ideas, as far as naming of the place - not to mention the
establishment of the mecca itself - is appalling, indeed. For, I am one of those who get uneasy
and disturbed whenever I watch people plagiarizing and copying others without the slightest
hesitation. Aside from the question of intellectual property laws, copying or imitating others
is a shameful act that everyone, especially artists and industrialists, should try to avoid, to
maintain a modicum of self-respect and pride.

In our usual breakneck haste to join the ranks of advanced societies in the 1970s and 80s, we
shamelessly imitated many artistic works as well as industrial products of Japan, Western
Europe and the United States. It is an easy and quick way to make money. And that is why the
act of copying, often with just enough variation to avoid trouble, has become a habit from
which we are still unable to wean ourselves completely, even though we have come to put so much
nationalistic emphasis on things Korean and traditional Korean culture in recent years.

We have been watching many television commercials as well as programs such as quiz shows and
soap operas that were such obvious copies of Japanese and American programs that they were
often pointed out-even sued-as imitations by the original producers and viewers. But most of
them were continued, with their producers saying brazenly that these were mere "coincidences,"
and that people, though of different nationality, often think alike.

Thus, when gangster movies became popular in America and Japan, we too produced, albeit
several years later, similar movies complete with shootouts in broad daylight in public places,
which, thank God, seldom take place in this country, and crazy car chases through streets of
Seoul and other cities, which are hardly possible on account of chronic traffic jams. When
Hollywood produced "Saving Private Ryan," which turned out to be a box-office hit in the United
States and the rest of the world, Korean filmmakers competed against each other to produce war
movies, one of which was obviously inspired by "Private Ryan."

And when Michael Moore made some waves producing "Fahrenheit 9/11" ridiculing President
George W. Bush, a Korean "documentary" producer makes "The President's Last Bang," which is
said to be a "black comedy," about the assassination of former President Park Chung-hee.
Incidentally, we do not have the guts like Moore showed to criticize the incumbent leader; we
only like to tread on the fallen, who cannot hit back.

Filmmaking, of course, is not the only area where Koreans copy the Japanese and Americans.
You name any work or product in any field of endeavor-literature, music, fashion or automobiles
- and you can find the originals produced in Japan and the West.

It is, of course, much easier to get quick results from copying or imitating, as I said, as
we do not have to use our own brains and creativity, if we have any, and as we do not have to
"waste" time and money for research. But copycats and imitators will never finish first; they
are eternally destined to play second or third string in any given field and meet eventual
failure.

Going back to Hallyuwood; calling a movie-making complex with a name similar to Hollywood
could be fun for some people; it could even evoke a bemused smile from others. Maybe, officials
in the provincial government, including the governor, thought it was a cool idea for South
Korea to have an artistic establishment as well known as Hollywood. But I really don't think it
is a wonderful name that is fated to become a household word throughout the world. Besides, if
we cannot exercise creativity in naming such an ambitious place, how can we expect to make
good, original and competitive products there?  

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Well said, I think. I doubt his views will have any effect on this half-baked plan, but at
least there are people in Korea who know a hoax when they see one.