Lost In Translation

Less Art, More Action

I was surprised that only one person at the table in a bar in Korea had heard of Kim Ki-Duk's film "Spring, Summer." This explanation was in the LA Times supplement from The Daily Yomiuri:

Give 'em less art, more action

The same South Korean films that receive praise abroad have found disdain at home, where Hollywood-style fare is preferred.

By Barbara Demick, Times Staff Writer

The entire film takes place in a Buddhist monastery. The cast pretty much consists of a monk and his disciple, with a love interest flitting through briefly, as well as a cat, a snake, a frog and a fish.

If it hardly sounds like blockbuster material, well, it wasn't.

South Korean audiences as a whole hated "Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter, and Spring." Fewer than 28,000 people saw the movie when it played on its home turf last year, and it was whisked out of the theaters as quickly as spilled popcorn. But in the United States, "Spring, Summer" has been playing since April, bringing in $2,259,717 ? and setting a record for a Korean film in the U.S. market.

The director, 43-year-old Kim Ki-Duk, considers himself something of a prophet without honor in his own land. And he's not the only South Korean filmmaker who has garnered kudos abroad and scorn at home. Films that are praised by foreign critics as entrancing, exquisite, gripping, delightful, stunning, timeless (among the adjectives applied to "Spring, Summer") are considered duds by Koreans.

"People here can't understand why I have such success abroad. If I win an award, they're surprised and a little defensive, asking, 'Why should this big foreign prize be going to Kim Ki-Duk?' " said Kim, whose "Samaritan Girl," about a teenage prostitute, won him the best director award this year at the Berlin Film Festival.

South Korean films have been on a roll on the film festival circuit of late, but most of the award winners have flopped at the box office here. Just a few of the more notable examples are Lee Chang-Dong's "Oasis," which won the special director award in 2002 at the Venice Film Festival; Im Kwon-Taek's "Chi-hwa-seon," which shared a best director award the same year in Cannes; and Jang Jun-Hwan's sci-fi comedy "Save the Green Planet," a prizewinner last year at the Moscow film festival.

This year's recipient of the Cannes Grand Prix, "Old Boy," an intricate film noir of revenge by director Park Chan-wook, is an exception, having been a modest though not runaway success on the domestic market.

It is not that South Koreans don't appreciate their own filmmakers. During the first five months of this year, Korean films took in 62% of the domestic box office, up from just about 35% in 2000, according to the Korean Film Commission. In fact, domestic films are so popular among South Koreans these days that the government is considering lifting screen quotas, which require domestic product on each theater's screens 40% of the time.

But the films that do well at home don't necessarily export well, and vice versa.
The runaway hits of late deal with uniquely Korean themes. "Taegukgi," the melodramatic saga of two brothers separated by the Korean War, ranks as the biggest blockbuster of all time here, having attracted 10 million moviegoers ? about one-third of the adult population. (The film is scheduled to open in U.S. theaters in late September, and its producers hope that Americans are sufficiently cognizant of the Korean War to get the message.)

Although it is not uncommon for films that do well on the festival and art-house circuit to disappoint commercially, the disconnect is greater in South Korea than in the United States or Europe. With too many films chasing too few screens, it's hard for anything eclectic to be seen. Audiences here are also much younger, and there isn't a well-developed art-house scene.

"After people get married, they don't go to movie theaters. It's more for lovers and friends," said Ahn Soo Hyun of B.O.M. Film Productions in Seoul. "In Korea, we don't have real movie buffs like in New York. Koreans like Hollywood-style films, not French art films or independent films."

Mark Yoon, international business head for KangJeGyu Films in Seoul, says the phenomenon is not limited to South Korea.

"Japan is a little more upscale, but everywhere in Asia, people like action. They like horror," Yoon said. "Some of the dramas do well."

In fact, the top export markets for South Korean films are in Asia, particularly Hong Kong, Taiwan and Japan.

"In Asia, Korean films can compete head to head with U.S. films," Yoon said, adding that the diversity of the films emerging from South Korea lately is making its films more competitive internationally. "In Hong Kong, people were doing just one genre. They did martial arts, then they went to comedy, and then everybody got tired of it. But we have a creative variety of films that make our market healthy and interesting."

Nevertheless, Shin Yang Seop, a lecturer in film at Seoul's Yonsei University, said he sees a lot in common among the South Korean films that have been successful abroad, particularly in the United States and Europe.

"They have all been very stylized, hard-edged, cynical," Shin said. "They keep a critical distance from the issues." "Spring, Summer" director Kim said, "There is a difference in perspective between what Europeans and South Koreans think of as honest human expression."

For the time being, Kim has found a way around the problem of his unpopularity in the home market. The film he's shooting, called "Three Iron," has been financed entirely in Japan and will most likely open there and in Europe before it reaches screens in South Korea.

Shabu Shabu: Korean vs. Japanese

While in Korea, Edward and I went to try Korean shabu shabu after hearing about it from Jeleesan. The thin slices of beef are pretty much the same as those used in Japanese style shabu shabu, however instead of being cooked in hot water the meat is cooked in a spicy soup with leeks, potatoes, and some other vegetables. After you eat all the meat, the staff will bring out noodles and the broth is eaten as a soup. Then after that, they bring out rice and make fried rice in the same bowl that was used for the broth. Intrestingly, the Koreans used soy sauce and wasabi as sauce for the meat.

In comparison, the Japnese style shabu shabu involves cooking meat and vegetables/tofu and uses two different kinds of sauces, one is sesame-based and the other soy-based. Last night I went to shabu shabu at MoMo Paradise with the Akamatsu clan. We got an all-you-can-eat set which included sukiyaki, in which the meat and vegetables sre cooked in a suace and then dipped into a raw egg.

Korean Night Club

The Friday night I arirved, after eating and having a couple of quiet ones, we headed off to a night club nearby. It had an impressive light show as you can see from the photo above. It was unusual in that there were several tables in which you pay a fee to sit at and either order whisky or beer, it also comes with fruit adn chocolates (see the set piece below). We got the whisky set. Everyone dances on a raised stage in front of the crowd, which almost empties when a slow songs comes on. Below Edward, Jeleesan, and Jenny.

Korean BBQ

The most famous Korean food in Japan is know as yaki niku (Korean BBQ). My first night in town my hosts took me to a typical BBQ joint. The way that it is prepared in Korean is a little bit different from Japan. The meat is typically wrapped in lettuce or shiso(I forgot how to say this in English-a kind of minty tasting leaf) with kimchi and/or raw garlic. I liked the fact that every restaurant we went to brings a bottle of water out to the table, and every meal includes several side dishes of vegetables and kimichi of different varities. In this picture there are vegetables with a miso based sauce and green peppers which were quite spicy and tasty. Surprisingly, we rarely ate rice with our meals.

After dinner myself, Jae (a guy who lived in San Francisco and Houston for 6 years), his wife, Jeleesan's friend Jenny(she lived in Australia for several years), Jeleesan, and Edward went to a Hoff (a Korean style tavern) for some beers before heading out to a nightclub.

Kamakura Beach Party

Yesterday I attended O'Leary's Make-A-Wish Kamakura Beach Party, despite cold crappy weather and rain. It would have been much bettter had it not been raining, but we still managed to have fun.

From left to righ, top to bottom, Tony and Tsuki, Izumi,Tokiko, and Jason.

Izumi and Ryoko used to be cheerleaders for a Japanese football team Onward Skylarks, the sponsor is a chain family restaurants in Japan.

Izumi says,"Hang loose."

Film Notes: The Bourne Supremacy

While in Korea I decided to see a movie since they are about half the price of movies in Japan ($7 vs. $16). We watched The Bourne Supremacy, a well-made thriller starring Matt Damon, the second in a series. I really enjoyed the first installment as well. This one was entertaining as well. I like how they used exotic locations in the film (for example Goa, India, Italy, and Berlin among other places). The hand held camera made me a bit dizzy, but it seemed appropriate for the film. I bought several DVDs as well, so I'll be reviewing those (Fahrenheit 9/11/Code 46/Collateral/Monster/Spartan/Hellboy/Belle De Jour/Indochine/Rio Bravo) as I watch them.

Redpine In The House

My friend Joey Akamatsu (Redpine) is in town with his family, unfortunately I'll be in Hawaii for most of his trip, but we'll hang out until he leaves town on Wednesday. Incidently, he is from Tacoma and knows my cousin Darth.

Korea: General Impressions

Last week I went to Korea to visit my friend Edward and his fiance Jeleesan View image. I met Edward in my first year onthe JET Program and then visited him in 1999-2000 in Sydney, he's a transplanted Englishman-more English than Aussie I'd say. He and Jeleesan, who he met in Sydney, have been living in Bristol for more than a year, before coming to Korea to get married. (The picture above is Incheon at night)

I had been to Korea about 6 years earlier with my friend Michael, who was on JET with me and Edward in Koshigaya. Last time I was only there for three days and only saw Seoul. Since Edward and Jeleesan live in Incheon, and since Jeleesan is Korean, I had a more authentic and local experience. As a result there are fewer foreigners, therefore fewer people speak English and I stand out more. I was surprised that no one marveled at my ability to use chopsticks like they do in Japan. People commented on how big and tall I am, as opposed to the Japanese who comment on how tall and fat I am. Especially in comparison to Edward who is much shorter and quite thin.

It seems that most people live in these dreary high rise apartment buildings (see below) that remind me of the tennemant building in NY or Hong Kong. In Japan they tend to have a variety of styles, generally speaking, but there are some complexes as well.

Generally speaking everything is cheaper in Incheon than in Seoul, which seems inexpensive to me to begin with, I believe it was 1100 won to the dollar, the cabs were very cheap, and so was food and drink. I'm not sure how much I spent, because the first few nights I didn't spend anything. I was beginning to think that everything was free, because Jeleesan or one of her friends would sneak off and pay the bill before I had the chance to do so. Apparently, the Koreans don't go dutch, rather they take turns treating each other. (Here's a typical street in Incheon near Edward and Jeleeson's apartment)

I found that there are several similarities between the Koreans and Japanese, but also fundamental differences. There is a sort of vertical system like Japan, but it seems rather that family and age are more important than other types of status. In general Koreans seem to be more demonstrative and aggressive than Japanese. For example, people are often touching each other (even men) and hold hands (I've seen girls, brothers and sisters, and co-workers holding hands).

I guess about half of the Koreans are Christian. There are several churches throughout the neighborhoods in ordinary office building complexes (see below), a curious sight. I think that less than 10% of Japanese are Christian in comparison.

The food culture is completely different as well, but I think there will be several posts on the food, which I really enjoyed and just got a basic introduction to. But it looks like I'll be back for Edward and Jeleesan's wedding in November (it's only a two hour flight and I've got free flights to Asia on my mileage). Jeleesan's mother went to a fortuneteller to find out what the lucky dates for the marriage were and they chose between several, two of which were October 13th and 31st, and eventually they opted for the 20th of November.

The Bobby Fischer Saga Continues

I am still in Korea and will have several posts about my visit and impressions of this lively country, but I couldn't resist posting some updated info on Japan I came across while surfing today. The following is from Japan Today:

Japan rejects Fischer's appeal; orders him to be deported

Tuesday, August 24, 2004 at 19:57 JST
TOKYO Justice Minister Daizo Nozawa on Tuesday rejected former chess champion Bobby Fischer's demand for protection as a political refugee, issuing an order to deport him.

The Justice Ministry rejected Fischer's demand for protection as a political refugee, saying that the charges outstanding against him in the United States are not political in nature.

Fischer, 61, is wanted in the United States for violating international sanctions against Yugoslavia in 1992 when he played his 1992 championship rematch against former world champion Boris Spassky in that country.

Although he has seven days to appeal, Fischer imediately submitted his appeal papers to try to block any physical effort to deport him.

Nozawa also formally rejected Fischer's appeal of the deportation order issued against him by the Immigration Bureau. He said that Fischer's grounds for appealing the deportation were insufficient and that the deportation should take place.

John Bosnitch, of the Committee to Free Bobby Fischer, said that the two lawyers handling Fischer's case, Masako Suzuki and Takeshi Ohara, have contacted immigration officials at the Ushiku Detention center as well as the Justice Ministry itself to legally block a deportation on the grounds that the whole procedure is now before the courts and a deportation would be a flagrant violation of Fischer's right to full legal recourse and protection under Japanese law.

Fischer was detained by Japanese airport officials on July 13 for attempting to travel on an invalid U.S. passport. He appealed the deportation order and applied for asylum in Japan as a political refugee and hopes to marry a Japanese national.

Ishihara Tightens Screws On Tokyo's Red-Light District

Ishihara tightens screws on Tokyo's red-light district

By Josh Noblestone

TOKYO If you're an old Japan hand and you walk through Kabukicho, Tokyo's infamous red-light district, on a Friday night, what you notice are not the garish neon signs, the one-stop sex-shop information centers, or even the bustle of people. What you notice is what's not there: the touts.

The days when Japanese men in black suits, white shirts and dark ties would openly accost customers, grab them by the arm and usher them into the assorted sex shops, fetish clubs, massage parlors and "bottakuri" bars (places where people are deceived and physically forced into paying up) have, for all practical purposes, ended.

In the dark corners and alleys, you may find the odd man looking for prey, but the days when the "kyakubiki" (customer pullers) announced their wares like a carnival barker seem like a distant era.

If you look closely at the skyline and the lampposts, you'll notice what has replaced them: surveillance cameras. They are the same kind of cameras that went up around Shibuya station this spring, and the same ones that will probably be introduced to the Roppongi area later this year. It's all part of Gov Shintaro Ishihara's plan to clean up the streets of Tokyo: first the touts, then the juveniles lurking around after the new official curfew, and, of course, the "bad foreigners."

Just as New York transformed Times Square from a den of sleaze into a giant upscale entertainment area in the mid-'90s, the Tokyo Metropolitan Government, Metropolitan Police Department and even the Liberal Democratic Party are trying to do the same for the major nightlife districts of Japan's capital. But in the all-out effort to clamp down on crime and restore order to Japanese society, some residents argue the authorities are applying overly draconian measures or that the whole effort could be nothing more than a safari on gaijin.

This from Japan Today, more here.