Jang stages one-man protest against screen quota cut
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Top actor Jang Dong-gun staged a one-man protest in downtown Seoul yesterday to protest the government's plan to slash the screen quota for local films, drawing thousands of movie fans to the scene.
Jang, 34, was supposed to stand with a picket for four hours from 1 p.m. in front of the Kyobo Life Insurance Building in Gwanghwamun to demand the government withdraw the measure to halve the screening days of domestic movies from 146 days to 73 days a year beginning in July.
But the protest was suspended for a while immediately because of the huge crowd of movie fans and reporters bustling to see the nation's top movie star.
Jang was the latest to join in a series of one-man protests being staged by actors since Saturday. Over the weekend, actors Ahn Sung-ki and Park Joong-hoon each held one-man protests, confronting the government over the rationality of cutting the screen quota.
"The government can't expect local movies to compete with over 200 Hollywood blockbusters released annually without any protective measures", Ahn, head of the filmmakers' committee, said Saturday. "It is not greed that leads us to this protest. We are just members of the nation who believe that screen quota should stay for the nation".
It is the first time for top movie stars to hold one-man rallies consecutively. Actor Choi Min-sik of the award-winning "Oldboy" will follow Jang and hold a protest today.
Such protests of the nation's top actors are expected to draw more attention to the filmmakers' massive outdoor rally scheduled for tomorrow.
The Finance Ministry set off the intense controversy last week, announcing the quota for local films will be halved as a measure to accelerate bilateral free trade negotiations with the United States.
As domestic movies began to dominate the box office with over 50 percent of market share in recent years, the screen quota system - introduced in 1966 - touched off a perennial controversy between its advocates and opponents.
While advocates of the system insist that the cut in the quota will deal a fatal blow to domestic films in the battle against Hollywood blockbusters, opponents assert that the domestic movie industry is ready to wean off from the protective policy.
According to a recent poll taken by the Korean Film Council, over 40 percent of Korean citizens approved of the screen quota cut, a large leap from last year's 16 percent.
By Shin Hae-in
Jang, 34, was supposed to stand with a picket for four hours from 1 p.m. in front of the Kyobo Life Insurance Building in Gwanghwamun to demand the government withdraw the measure to halve the screening days of domestic movies from 146 days to 73 days a year beginning in July.
But the protest was suspended for a while immediately because of the huge crowd of movie fans and reporters bustling to see the nation's top movie star.
Jang was the latest to join in a series of one-man protests being staged by actors since Saturday. Over the weekend, actors Ahn Sung-ki and Park Joong-hoon each held one-man protests, confronting the government over the rationality of cutting the screen quota.
"The government can't expect local movies to compete with over 200 Hollywood blockbusters released annually without any protective measures", Ahn, head of the filmmakers' committee, said Saturday. "It is not greed that leads us to this protest. We are just members of the nation who believe that screen quota should stay for the nation".
It is the first time for top movie stars to hold one-man rallies consecutively. Actor Choi Min-sik of the award-winning "Oldboy" will follow Jang and hold a protest today.
Such protests of the nation's top actors are expected to draw more attention to the filmmakers' massive outdoor rally scheduled for tomorrow.
The Finance Ministry set off the intense controversy last week, announcing the quota for local films will be halved as a measure to accelerate bilateral free trade negotiations with the United States.
As domestic movies began to dominate the box office with over 50 percent of market share in recent years, the screen quota system - introduced in 1966 - touched off a perennial controversy between its advocates and opponents.
While advocates of the system insist that the cut in the quota will deal a fatal blow to domestic films in the battle against Hollywood blockbusters, opponents assert that the domestic movie industry is ready to wean off from the protective policy.
According to a recent poll taken by the Korean Film Council, over 40 percent of Korean citizens approved of the screen quota cut, a large leap from last year's 16 percent.
By Shin Hae-in
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