[Jeon Chan-il's Cultural Talk] Toward the Globalization of Korean Criticism

Having lived through it, I have now passed my sixtieth year. I have lived with the mindset and attitude of being reborn at age one. Perhaps thanks to that, even amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, which has become almost a part of our daily lives, I was able to endure it in reasonably good health, both physically and mentally. A life that does not settle, along with the distinction between work and rest, and the highest value in my life being gratitude in all things?how grateful I am for 2021, I cannot say enough.

Though I am naturally an unplanned type, I am now actively planning my life beyond age two. In fact, I am designing the next five to ten years with a broad and long-term perspective. For some time now, I have identified myself as a ‘Glocal Culture Planner & Connector’ (GCPC) and a ‘Public Nosy Parker’ (P.O.), a cultural content expert, and I am also devising plans that correspond to that identity. Marking the 100th anniversary of Children’s Day, I am pushing forward projects such as a film project on So-pa Bang Jeong-hwan, and one of these plans is the ‘globalization’ of the Korean critical community as a whole.

Our critics have not been without a sense of being frogs in a well. I am no exception. Since my first visit to the Cannes Film Festival, the world’s most prestigious film festival, in 1997, I have attended 20 times until 2017, except for 1999, yet I have never contributed articles to foreign media. I never even considered trying. The manuscripts I wrote every year were all for domestic use. What was the problem?

Was it the language barrier? Directors Park Chan-wook, Bong Joon-ho, and Kim Ji-woon, who worked early on in Hollywood with (2012), (2013), and (2013), have never complained about language limitations. If I had diligently written and sent a plain text article with the help of a native speaker, which media would not have given me a chance? Especially in this internet age...

From 2009, I spent eight years involved with the Busan International Film Festival and traveled on business to dozens of overseas cities. Looking back, I have rarely experienced inconvenience due to English. Not because I am that proficient in English, but because, as a foreigner, it is natural to be clumsy with a foreign language, and thanks to that confidence or shamelessness.

I have broken out in cold sweat presenting in front of countless filmmakers worldwide at the Sundance Film Festival forum program, but I did not give up. When I was invited to give an impromptu special lecture on director Im Kwon-taek during a film class at Chapman University, I completed about 30 minutes using half English and half Korean. In some countries, I even responded to interviews with broadcasting stations in English. In 2010, I met director Denis Villeneuve of in Montreal, Canada, and had a pleasant chat, actively encouraging him to visit the Busan Film Festival that year.

There are many such experiences. Still, it is true that hesitation and greed, such as waiting until I could do better, also played a role. I did not feel the urgent need. But the situation is fundamentally changing rapidly. Leading the K-pop wave with BTS and Blackpink, director Bong Joon-ho’s , Youn Yuh-jung’s supporting role in , and director Hwang Dong-hyuk’s starring Lee Jung-jae and Oh Young-soo have created what is called the ‘K-Wave’ into a genuine ‘global phenomenon’ in just two to three years. Now, shouldn’t the Korean critical community also ‘participate’ in that phenomenon and do something? Not to ‘ride the wave’ but...

The contribution I can make immediately is to plunge headlong into the discourse on the K-Wave and refine and deepen those discussions. Since last year, I have heard quite a few criticisms or suggestions from those around me that a bunch of amateurs at home and abroad are recklessly talking and writing about K-content, so what exactly is a person who is a film critic and president of the Korean Cultural Content Critics Association (Konbi-hyeop) doing? Isn’t it neglect of duty? These are criticisms I cannot deny.

Since it could be a stalemate, I will not mention others’ levels. I have resolved to start with what I can do, and in April last year, I launched ‘Creatuber Jeon Chan-il TV’ and started YouTube. I have been on pause for several months now, catching my breath. Whether it is ‘Jeon Chan-il & Lee Deok-il’s Panoramic Exploration: Exploring Film and History’ or ‘Chance Movie,’ I cannot guarantee their future. But I have no intention whatsoever of shutting down. I am looking for ways to keep them alive and sustainable.

In a lecture at the Cheondoism Innaecheon Leader Academy filmed in mid-October, I argued that “historical K-Wave content such as , BTS, and is connected above all with ‘love for humanity’ and ‘respect for humanity,’ linking to Cheondoism’s ideas of Sa-in-yeo-cheon and Innaecheon, in other words, ‘humanism.’” In November, at special programs of the Changwon International Democratic Film Festival and Bucheon International Animation Festival, I diagnosed and emphasized “the civilizational significance of the K-Wave” and “why the world is captivated by K-content,” focusing on the same three historical popular culture contents. In early December, at a conference related to Donghak held in Buan County, I examined the relationship between “Donghak (Peasant) Revolution and cultural content, and the K-Wave,” focusing on moving images. These are all activities carried out as an extension of my determination to contribute to K-Wave-related discussions.

Of course, the above contents were for domestic use. Due to various circumstances, I have not progressed to providing foreign language subtitles such as English. However, whether lectures, writings, or YouTube broadcasts... I intend to explore ways to globalize them in the future. Not alone, but through multifaceted ‘open collaboration.’ There are suitable partner organizations such as Konbi-hyeop and the Korean branch of the International Federation of Film Critics.

Incidentally, a report came out that Korea ranked fourth in the global game market in 2020. It was ranked after the United States, China, and Japan, moving up one spot from the previous year, surpassing the United Kingdom. The market share was 6.9%. The global market size increased by 11.7% from the previous year to $209.658 billion, and domestic sales rose 21.3% to 18.8855 trillion won. Exports also increased by 23.1% to $8.19356 billion (approximately 9.6688 trillion won).

At this point, shouldn’t discussions focusing on the educational and cultural value of games be developed urgently? Not just satisfied with making money. Isn’t a small amount of money enough? Of course, we must keep the global stage in mind.

Jeon Chan-il, Film Critic / President of the Korean Cultural Content Critics Association / Adjunct Professor, School of Global Arts, Chung-Ang University