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ASIAN AMERICAN ISSUES
Is Corean (Korean) Cinema the New HK Cinema?
t the peak of its Golden Era between the mid-80s and early-90s Hong Kong cinema was defending nearly half its domestic box office turf against Hollywood imports, thanks to an unusual concentration of mega-talents like John Woo, Chow Yun-Fat, Jackie Chan and Tsui Hark. No other film industry in the world had been able to claim that for a half century. What's more, some HK kung-fu and gangster flicks outdrew Hollywood thrillers in many international markets.
Corean heartthrob Won Bin
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Hollywood's strategy for coping with the HK threat? Simple and devastatingly effective -- buy up the biggest box-office draws. The result has been an epic shift: the top HK talents have been reduced mostly to coolie-ing on Hollywood formulaics while HK cinema has become a parched gulch with bounding tumbleweeds and half-hinged screen doors banging forlornly with every hot gust.
Corean American Shiri star Kim Yoon-jin
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But just as Asian Americans resigned themselves to having screen images hijacked by a remarkably Asian-unfriendly Hollywood, Corean cinema began throwing off heat. Beginning in the early 90s a hardy new generation of Corean filmmakers made themselves fixtures at the award ceremonies of Cannes, Venice and other international film festivals. By the turn of the century Corea's Pusan Film Festival emerged as Asia's premiere celluloid bazaar. But that was small potatoes, not enough to catch the notice of an industry whose real lifeblood is box office.
Then came Shiri (1999), Kang Jae-gyu's lovingly-wrought, haunting thriller about a deadly North Corean female terrorist who falls in love with exactly the wrong guy. It became the first domestic film in history to break the 2 million ticket mark for the Seoul metropolitan area (which accounts for about 25% of the Corean market), and went on to outgross Hollywood blockbusters like The Mummy, The Matrix, Titanic, Star Wars Episode One and Toy Story. Its $5 million budget is less than a tenth of what Hollywood spends at the drop of a dime but was considered a daring gamble. It paid off. Domestic box office receipts ultimately spiked past $60 million, ensuring an unexpected profit for the film's backer Samsung Entertainment -- and more importantly, whetting the appetites of investors for more "big-budget" projects.
Director Kang took pains to point out that Shiri's success was founded on a painstakingly crafted screenplay -- something few Corean directors had bothered with before then.
In 2000 and 2001 alone, two Corean films surpassed Shiri's box office benchmarks: Joint Security Area (DMZ military mystery/drama, 2000) and Friend (male-bonding, 2001). These blockbusters have stimulated a general upsurge of interest in domestic films. Films like Friend and My Sassy Girl (romantic comedy) outgrossed Hollywood megapics like Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings. They helped make Corea the only market in which domestic films captured over 50% of box office receipts, with Hollywood fare attracting 40%.
As the saga of Hong Kong cinema has shown, nothing yanks Hollywood's chain like being kicked at the box office. Major studios have begun importing Shiri, Musa (co-starring Zhang Zhiyi as a Ming princess rescued by Corean swordsmen) and other Corean films for limited U.S. theatrical release and video distribution. More significantly -- or ominously, depending on your perspective -- they have begun signing Corean talent. One is actress Shin Eun-kyung who starred in the popular comedy My Wife Is a Gangster (2001) which outgrossed Lord of the Rings. Shin will play the female lead opposite Andy Garcia. Miramax even paid $1.1 million for the remake rights to My Wife Is a Gangster.
Is Corean cinema the new Hong Kong cinema? Or will an Asian version of Hollywood ultimately emerge in Corea?
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WHAT YOU SAY
[This page is closed to new input. --Ed.]
(Updated
Tuesday, Apr 1, 2008, 06:07:16 PM)
Stop tryin to talk about what real hip hop is and what isn't. People like you ruin the whole point of hip-hop, which is to provide a distraction from the harsh reality of life. That is what music is, and people that discuss what is real music and what isn't is just killing any real point of having music at all.
People who listen to any underground music, be it ambiance, to rock, to rap are all the same. They always complain about selling out and what is real music and what isn't. If you listen to underground hip hop and mainstream hiphop they basically talk about the same things. The only difference is that one group of people are trying to make it and the other is already successful. If you listen to Jin (Chinese mc just signed to Ruff Ryders) and Jay-Z, they talk about the same shit. They talk about themselves, the cars they want or have, the trials and tribulations they been through and how they will/have achieved success.
I listen to underground s hit and I listen mainstream s hit. Whatever makes me happy at the time. That is what music is supposed to do. I will listen to Mos Def and pop in Nelly the next minute. Whatever satisfies me.
Gettin to Korean hip-hop, its obvious that you haven't heard much of Korean hip-hop at all. The ones you see on tv today are comparable to Nelly and NSync collaborating. Nothing wrong with it, but basically its mainstream. There a grip of rappers and groups that are real underground and criticize everything that plagues the Korean music industry. Check out Da Crew or JooSuc. They talk about things that Koreans can relate to and have some real raw beats. It has their place when you chillin at home or at a bar just chillin out wit your boys. On the other hand if you are at a club, I ain't gonna be listenin to some pseudo intellectual talking about the lack of lyricism in hip-hop and anti-white talk from Ras Kass. I want to be listenin to Jay-Z, Nas, Ja Rule and such.
And Toi Son Jai I respect the groups you listen to and your taste, but if you are going to base your whole argument about Korean hip-hop not sounding like ATCQ, Mos Def, Pharoahe Monch, Dead Prez and such, then dayam I guess you dont understand what hip hop is. Hip hop is about being different and providing something for people to listen to. Something to enjoy. Like I said its a distraction for people who are living the hard life and not everyone in this world is living a good life. Just because you are asian don't mean there arent poor asians in America, because their are plenty . I just don't like it when all people do is criticize music and lyrics. People like you kill the music that I truly love and enjoy.
Basically what underground heads in all types of music do are justifying their place in the world. Something that they feel makes them different is now accepted by the masses all of a sudden. Sometimes you just have to let that go and enjoy music. And most poor people aren't looking for multi syllable rhymes and alternating rhyme schemes between line A and line C, but something to listen to when they get home from their 9 to 5 or a banger that will play in the club while you are drunk in search of a beautiful a ss.
If you want to listen to real hip-hop first of all you have to relate and I doubt you can relate to Jay-Z spittin on "This Can't Be Life." If lyricism is your joint then you can listen all types of emcees. I personally like Jay-Z, Camron, Beanie, basically the whole ROC. Biggie Smalls the greatest of all time with Jay. I like Nas, but he will never match Illmatic in his raw talent and lyricism. Stillmatic is mad overrated. Eminem is real tite on the battlin tip and has insane lyrics. Check out, Mos Def, Tribe Called Quest, Dilated, Mountain Brothers, Mobb Deep, Dead Prez, Ras Kass, Dre, Outkast. I mean their are some real dope joints out there, you just have to really pay attention to the. Oh yea, Luda, he has an incredible delivery. And the Ruff Ryders got a new young Chinese Emcee by the name of Jin that should be droppin later this year. If you already haven't heard, he has been killin mc's left and right on 106 and Park on BET's Freestyle Friday's. He was offered a deal with the crew and you should expect and album to drop with guest appearances by some of the Ruff Ryders such as Eve, The Lox, Drag-On and DMX and production by Swizz Beats so keep your head up for that.
Holla
Asian hip hop
Monday, April 22, 2002 at 01:07:03 (PDT)
What is up with Asian and White boys and their hair spikey up lol They are so cute ahhhhh
mmm~
Sunday, April 21, 2002 at 21:46:58 (PDT)
The "REAL" hip hop? "You can leave the ghetto, but the ghetto will never leave you." Statements like that make me laugh. So you can drive plushed out navigators and benzs, but you still drink 40's? Is that an example of simultanesouly leaving and staying in the ghetto? I guess all that stuff that gets airplay isn't hip hop. Damn, I must be really missing out, and someone really needs to let those fake rappers, eg. Nas, and Nelly, and any other rapper on mtv or bet, know that they are not making "REAL" hip-hop. Toi, maybe you happen to like a certain rap niche, but when people generally refer to American hip-hop, it certainly means the likes of Cypress Hill, Snoop, JZ, Puffy, EPMD, etc.
theajsuhi
knamja@hotmail.com
Sunday, April 21, 2002 at 21:13:00 (PDT)
"I wonder if Nas or JZ still live in the "streets," and I can attest that Snoop no longer does; he lives a couple blocks from my friends in a suburban white neighborhood)"
If you call that REAL hip hop, end of conversation. Anyways, if you are rich now, does that change the fact that you grew up a thug? You can leave the ghetto, but the ghetto will never leave you.
Besides, I was just responding to someone who said Koreans looked up to American hip hop. The style of Korean hip hop is more on the lines of very commercial stuff like Nelly and Puff Daddy, which is not true hip hop.
Check out stuff by the Heiroglyphics, Foreign Legion, Anticon, Blackalicious, etc., and tell me if Korean hip hop sounds anything like it.
Toi San Jai
Eric@KristinKreuk.net
Friday, April 19, 2002 at 21:17:12 (PDT)
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