INTERVIEW Korean film industry must guard its IP to avoid Hong Kong's fate: film council commissioner

BUSAN — Korea's booming film and TV industry risks following Hong Kong film industry's post-2000 decline due to the rampant selling of intellectual property (IP) to foreign streaming platforms and unsustainable production costs, Kim Dong-won, a commissioner on the Korean Film Council (KOFIC), said Thursday.

As the Busan International Film Festival (BIFF) kicked off Wednesday, drawing much attention from overseas content buyers and industry officials to Asia's largest cinema festival, the commissioner sounded the alarm regarding the Korean film and TV content industry, urging content creators and the government to put more effort in protecting the intellectual property made in the country.

"Korean-made content, such as 'Squid Game,' is often transformed into global hits, but in many cases, the original creators lose significant control over their works as they, many of whom are small-sized business operators, are recklessly selling their content to foreign streaming platforms. These IPs are not fully owned by Korean entities," Kim told The Korea Times at the Busan Cinema Center, the BIFF's main venue.

"Unfortunately, the Korean movie industry is in a fragile state of health. Movie distributors have been cutting back on investment, and content creators are forced to partner with foreign buyers to survive and sell their IP to them on the cheap, creating a vicious cycle."

Kim said that the government should legislate laws allowing Korean content creators to own the IP of their content. He noted that France has laws that allow creators to regain rights after a set period.

"In France, creators can reclaim their IP rights after three years, even if the content is co-produced by them and foreign platforms, ensuring that local industry maintains a stake in their original work. We need similar legislation to prevent our IP from being entirely absorbed by foreign platforms," the commissioner said.

"We should adopt a law like France's, allowing small domestic producers to co-own IP with foreign investors so that it cannot be easily taken away. Without these protections, Korean content risks being diluted in the international market," he added.

The KOFIC commissioner also emphasized the importance of maintaining cultural ownership.

"While we do want to collaborate globally and see our content thrive overseas, it's crucial that we don't lose the Korean identity in the process. Owning the IP allows creators here to keep that identity intact and ensures that profits continue to benefit our industry," he said.

Without these measures, Korea's content industry risks following the same path as Hong Kong's, which lost its competitive edge and growth potential due to fleeing investors and unsustainable production costs, the commissioner warned.

Kim, who also serves as a director of the Performing Arts Center at Seokyeong University and is a content creator, was a special adviser to the 20th Presidential Transition Committee in 2022, where he helped shape cultural policy strategies for the Yoon Suk Yeol administration.

As a special adviser, he spearheaded initiatives such as creating a 600 billion won ($450 million) K-content fund and support programs for streaming content production.

These efforts culminated on Wednesday when the government signed a memorandum of understanding with financial institutions and content companies to establish a 600 billion won K-Content and Media Strategic Fund.

Kim emphasized that the fund should involve industry experts as evaluators to create globally successful Korean content like Netflix's "Squid Game."

"'Squid Game' is not a Korean content. Even though it's made by Korean creators, it is content owned by a foreign streaming platform," Kim said. "This fund will play a crucial role in continuously creating content of similar global impact. We need industry experts with professional knowledge and extensive field experience to participate in this fund to identify talented content producers and ensure the sustainable development of Korean content IP."