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South Korean movie stars rally against 'Hollywood invasion'
Credit: www.channelnewsasia.com
Time is GMT + 8 hours
Posted: 08 February 2006 1647 hrs
South Korean movie industry workers hold anti-FTA placards during a rally opposing the government's plans to cut the screen quota system for local films in Seoul
[Chris: Seriously, if you ask me, I definitely support them in their oppose towards their government decision.. Why tarnish the hardwork of their own local people who have worked so hard to make K-movies and K-drama so popular worldwide? Correct me if I'm wrong, the worldwide showbiz industy seemed to be so jealous of the sudden boom of Korean showbiz!! Why why why? ]
SEOUL : South Korean film stars have led a rally opposing plans to cut in half the screen quota system, a government decision they said would trigger a Hollywood movie invasion.
The rally near the US embassy in central Seoul drew about 1,000 movie producers, actors and directors under a banner reading "Stop humiliating negotiations that will allow a cultural invasion".
Surrounded by riot police, the protestors including Choi Min-Shik, the star of South Korea's 2004 Cannes Grand Prix-winning "Old Boy," waved placards and chanted slogans opposing a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with the United States.
"We oppose the United States, which is forcing humiliating free trade negotiations," they said
South Korea and the United States last week announced the launch of talks aimed at establishing the FTA.
South Korea, the seventh-largest trade partner of the United States, has cleared the way for the talks by halving the 40-year-old quota, which forced cinemas to show domestic movies on at least 146 days a year.
South Korea's movie industry has condemned the decision as an "anti-cultural coup d'etat."
Finance and Economy Minister Han Duck-Soo defended the government's decision saying the reduced quota reflected the enhanced competitiveness of South Korean films.
Of the top 10 box office hits in South Korea last year seven were homegrown and only three from the United States, none of which made the top five.
"We decided to reduce the quota because the competitiveness and quality of our movies has improved sharply," he said.
He said the free trade agreement would boost South Korea's exports and economic growth.
- AFP/ms
The rally near the US embassy in central Seoul drew about 1,000 movie producers, actors and directors under a banner reading "Stop humiliating negotiations that will allow a cultural invasion".
Surrounded by riot police, the protestors including Choi Min-Shik, the star of South Korea's 2004 Cannes Grand Prix-winning "Old Boy," waved placards and chanted slogans opposing a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with the United States.
"We oppose the United States, which is forcing humiliating free trade negotiations," they said
South Korea and the United States last week announced the launch of talks aimed at establishing the FTA.
South Korea, the seventh-largest trade partner of the United States, has cleared the way for the talks by halving the 40-year-old quota, which forced cinemas to show domestic movies on at least 146 days a year.
South Korea's movie industry has condemned the decision as an "anti-cultural coup d'etat."
Finance and Economy Minister Han Duck-Soo defended the government's decision saying the reduced quota reflected the enhanced competitiveness of South Korean films.
Of the top 10 box office hits in South Korea last year seven were homegrown and only three from the United States, none of which made the top five.
"We decided to reduce the quota because the competitiveness and quality of our movies has improved sharply," he said.
He said the free trade agreement would boost South Korea's exports and economic growth.
- AFP/ms
posted by Fei @ 2:11 PM
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