"Cultural Absence Means No Nation": Grandfather's Legacy Continues with 'Industrialization of Culture'
25 Years of Investment Despite Losses... Achieved Success with Sister Lee Mi-kyung through "Parasite"
Distributed Over 320 Films, Invested 7.5 Trillion Won in Cultural Industry... Also Established a Foundation
[Asia Economy reporters Lee Seon-ae and Choi Sae-hye] On the 9th (local time), after 'Parasite' was announced as the Oscar winner for Best Original Screenplay, the camera briefly captured the face of Lee Mi-kyung, Vice Chairwoman of CJ Group, standing next to director Bong Joon-ho. Earlier, at the Cannes International Film Festival in May last year, director Bong expressed his gratitude in his acceptance speech for the Palme d'Or, saying, "Producing Parasite was a great adventure, and I thank the CJ family who supported many artists." As he referred to them as 'family,' all of his notable films?Memories of Murder, Mother, Snowpiercer, and Parasite?were invested in and distributed by CJ.
Snowpiercer, which had a massive production budget of $40 million, faced difficulties in securing overseas investment before filming began, but it is well known that Lee Jae-hyun, Chairman of CJ Group, decided to cover the entire production cost and supported the project. Without the full investment and support of the CJ siblings, it might have been difficult to achieve such a remarkable success. Industry insiders have praised the siblings' steadfast management, enduring losses while persistently committing to the cultural industry, as finally bearing fruit.
◆ Chairman Lee Jae-hyun’s Aspiration for Industrializing Culture… Establishment of Cultural Foundation= "The investment over the past 25 years was not in vain." This was the sentiment expressed by Lee Jae-hyun, Chairman of CJ Group, during a CJ ENM business report, praising Parasite as a film that elevated the nation's prestige. His unwavering commitment to film investment, enduring losses for over 20 years, is inseparable from the success of Parasite today. For Chairman Lee, who entered the cultural industry starting with films in 1995, Parasite became a special and symbolic 'work.'
Chairman Lee holds a dream of 'cultural patriotism.' His strong passion and determination for the industrialization of culture are said to stem from the teachings of his grandfather, the late Lee Byung-chul, founder of Samsung Group. Following the philosophy of the previous chairman that "without culture, there is no country," his management philosophy is to endure hardships and continuously invest in the cultural industry to raise national prestige. When Parasite continued to win awards in the global film market, Chairman Lee said, "Despite difficulties over 20 years, we invested in the cultural industry," and added, "I am confident that the decision to trust the talent and passion of Korean youth was not wrong."
The starting point of the cultural industry was with DreamWorks. As a young executive in his 30s, Chairman Lee attracted industry attention by investing $300 million in the establishment of the American animation film production company DreamWorks in 1995. The $300 million was more than 20% of CJ CheilJedang's annual sales at the time, and there was internal opposition to the investment, but his determination to become a cultural company was firm.
Starting with films, CJ has invested in over 300 Korean films since 1997's Inshalla. It is credited with laying the foundation for the industrialization of Korean cinema as an 'investment-distribution company,' a concept unfamiliar domestically at the time. The cumulative investment in the cultural industry has exceeded 7.5 trillion won. Chairman Lee is moving toward his dreams of producing content directly after building production and distribution capabilities through DreamWorks, changing movie-going culture through multiplexes, and entering the global market with cultural products.
In 2006, Chairman Lee also established a cultural foundation himself. This was to create a fertile ground where young and emerging artists could express creativity, strengthen the foundation of Korean cultural content, and build a virtuous cycle where recognized creative content domestically and internationally leads to the Korean Wave (Hallyu).
The CJ Cultural Foundation opened 'CJ Azit Gwangheungchang' in 2009, starting support projects for new creators in popular culture. From 2010, it launched full-fledged creator support programs such as Tune-Up, Stage-Up, and Story-Up, gradually expanding the scale and investing about 5 to 6 billion won annually in supporting new creators since 2017.
A CJ Group official emphasized, "Chairman Lee's will to continuously invest in cultural projects for 25 years, foreseeing that the cultural industry will lead Korea's future, laid the foundation for the K-culture boom."
Chairman Lee’s dream is for people worldwide to watch 2 to 3 Korean films annually, eat Korean food 1 to 2 times monthly, watch 1 to 2 Korean dramas weekly, and listen to 1 to 2 Korean songs daily, enjoying Korean culture in their everyday lives.
◆ Strategist Lee Jae-hyun Behind Executor Lee Mi-kyung= Among those deeply moved by Parasite’s recent award news is Vice Chairwoman Lee Mi-kyung. She has directly led CJ’s film business for the past 25 years. Besides Parasite, she has been credited as executive producer on films such as The Host and Mother, maintaining a close relationship with director Bong and providing full support.
For Parasite, she launched a support offensive through exchanges with global cultural industry experts and especially worked hard to build favorable public opinion during the Academy Awards campaign period. The Oscars, selected by votes from about 8,000 members of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), are known as an awards ceremony where 'promotion battles' play a significant role. It is not enough for a film to be excellent; the process of making as many members as possible aware of the work is crucial. Since the Korean film industry lacked such experience, the Parasite team focused on raising awareness in North America through direct efforts, with Vice Chairwoman Lee leading the charge. CJ reportedly spent about 10 billion won on this campaign.
Vice Chairwoman Lee also drew attention by sitting next to director Bong at the Oscars ceremony. She was seen cheering and deeply moved when Parasite was called for the International Feature Film award and when director Bong was announced for Best Director.
On stage, she began with the greeting "Hi everybody," and repeatedly expressed in English, "Thank you. I love everything about Bong Joon-ho. His smile, his trademark hairstyle, his madness, especially his directing. I love his sense of humor, and he really knows how to entertain people. Thank you so much." She continued, "Thank you to everyone who supported and loved Parasite. Thanks to my younger brother Lee Jae-hyun (Chairman of CJ Group). Everyone who goes to see Korean films supports the films," and added, "They did not hesitate to give us immediate feedback, and thanks to those opinions, we did not become complacent and the directors and creators could keep moving forward."
Vice Chairwoman Lee also personally visited the Cannes International Film Festival in May last year when Parasite won the Palme d'Or. It was her first visit to Cannes in about 10 years. She also attended the Golden Globe Awards held last month. She was captured on camera clapping and cheering when director Bong won the Foreign Language Film category, the first Korean film to do so.
Industry insiders explain, "Until achieving such success with Parasite, Chairman Lee took on the role of 'strategist,' and Vice Chairwoman Lee the role of 'executor.' This is the fruit harvested exactly 25 years after CJ Group declared its overseas expansion through films."
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