[In-Depth Look] Finance: The Most Personal Thing Is the Most Creative Thing

Last week, South Korea watched with excitement and emotion as our film Parasite achieved a historic four Oscar wins in Los Angeles, USA. It seemed almost unimaginable that such a thing could happen, but Director Bong Joon-ho and our filmmakers accomplished this difficult feat so perfectly.

In discussing this topic, it is worth revisiting the words Bong quoted in paying tribute to his spiritual mentor, Director Martin Scorsese, after winning the Oscar for Best Director. Bong revealed that at the core of the films he makes lies the belief that the most personal is the most creative.

This belief of Director Bong led his works to become films rooted in deeply personal experiences, imbued with Korean sensibilities, rather than Hollywood-style movies that dominate the global box office. Although the art of cinema originated in the United States and Europe, and Korean cinema initially began by imitating them, our filmmakers have moved beyond mere imitation to project their most personal experiences and philosophies into their films, earning the highest recognition in the global market.

This is an important practical approach that can permeate many areas of our society, not just film. Reflecting on the financial sector, where I am involved, this belief becomes even more solid. The history of finance in our country is as long as that of cinema, but when comparing the achievements made so far, one cannot help but feel the relative gap.

The domestic financial industry still seems to overly believe in the adage that imitation is the mother of creation. Every year, numerous new financial products appear in the market. However, most of these products are benchmarked from those already sold or operated in overseas financial markets. The same applies to financial systems and regulations. When attempting new financial products or systems, financial companies first check overseas cases. Only after confirming that similar products or systems are successfully operating in foreign markets do they proceed with development with confidence.

Of course, this is not to say that studying overseas products or systems is unimportant. If others are doing something we have not yet done, carefully examining how it started and developed can reduce costs from trial and error. This is why investigating overseas cases cannot be neglected. However, simply following successful overseas products or systems alone makes it difficult to become world-class. To advance beyond imitation, efforts to creatively develop products and systems by reflecting personal experiences and ideas must be pursued simultaneously. Only then can our finance sector leap to world-class status. We must clearly recognize that if Director Bong had stayed with Hollywood-style filmmaking instead of developing the so-called 'Bong Joon-ho genre' based on his personal experiences, he could never have won against Hollywood films made with astronomical budgets.

South Korea is a culturally powerful nation recognized by all. But if asked whether South Korea is a financial powerhouse, the answer would still be 'not yet.' The financial sector should now learn from the success formula of the cultural sector. In our financial market, the most personal (Korean) must become the most creative (global).

Hwang Se-woon, Research Fellow, Korea Capital Market Institute