Korean Film Craze Lures Nepalis
Published on | Source
By Anil Giri
Korea Times Correspondent
KATHMANDU ― Films are one way to express the culture, life, human relations, religion and values of a particular country. One can get an idea about a particular country from a film, which one may not get from reading dozens of books.
Korean films are becoming immensely popular across the globe. Previously, filmgoers in Nepal had Hollywood and Bollywood, but the current movie craze is popularly known as Kollywood.
The Nepali film market is small and mostly produces low budget films. It was traditionally influenced by the Indian movie industry. Now the emphasis has entirely shifted to Korean movies. "My Sassy Girl", one of the most successful Korean movies, has become the latest source of inspiration for the Nepali film industry.
"My Small World", the Nepali version of "My Sassy Girl", has been the country's biggest hit at the box office in 2009.
Not only Korean box office hits but also smaller-scale Korean movies are equally popular here. "The market for Korean films has gone up by 200 percent. It has overtaken both the Hollywood and Bollywood markets here", said Ramesh Dhakal, who sells Korean, Indian, Hollywood, and other movies in Kathmandu. Due to modern technology like DVDs, watching movies at home is far easier than having to go to the movie theater.
Similarly, Korean fashion, clothing and hairstyles are popular in Nepal among the younger generation, due to the influence of Korean movies.
A recently released Nepali film, "I Have a Friend" was highly successful but the key to the film's success was Korean movie "A Millionaires' First Love".
"It was an experiment to see what the public's reaction would be if I took my inspiration from a foreign movie. The trial was successful as moviegoers liked my film", said the film's director, Sudarshan Thapa.
The impact of Korean movies on Nepali films is growing. Despite the fact that most Nepali moviegoers do not understand the Korean language, the market is surging. "It was just 3 years ago that Korean movies started to become popular here", said another seller, Ganesh Ghimire. Most of the merchants felt that Korean movies began growing in popularity from 2007 and that the market is skyrocketing in Nepal as it continues to prosper worldwide.
The interest in Korean cinema began following an agreement between the countries to send laborers from Nepal to Korea on a regular basis. Knowledge of the Korean language was a prerequisite for the workers and demand for films in the language surged. The majority of the training centers used movies to teach the language. A trend was established and even those who did not understand Korean began to ask for the movies.
Even the demand for films that aren't new releases is high. Requests for the eight-year-old "My Sassy Girl", six-year-old "A Millionaires' First Love" and "Taegukgi", released five years ago, are continuous. Romance movies are more popular than any other genre.
After the enormous success of "My Sassy Girl", the impact of the industry began to grow. Other film industries in Asia began to imitate the film and distribute similar movies on a large scale. The arrogant and proud woman in "My Sassy Girl" was in stark contrast to the portrayal of other female characters in Asian cinema. This was the major factor that compelled filmmakers and directors to emulate it.
Another reason for the success of Korean films in Nepal is their regular appearance at film festivals. Last year four Korean films were chosen to appear at a four-day festival in Kathmandu, further portraying elements of Korean life, culture and society. Although Korea and Nepal are far apart geographically their cultural, social and religious lives have much in common.
According to a source at the Korean embassy, the film festival's organizers in Kathmandu have invited more Korean films to appear.
"This film festival is expected to serve as a good chance to gain further insight into Korea ― its language, lifestyles, politics, society, and culture. I hope this will help all the viewers better understand the country, thus contributing to fostering the friendly relationship between the people of the two countries", said Hang Sungmog, Ambassador to Korea, during the opening of the festival.
Why are Korean films becoming so popular? Simple: Korean films are based on ordinary subject matter, and feature strong plots and perfect acting.
This impression is shared by most Nepali film directors. Western movies are distancing themselves from common human behavior and sensitivity towards life. Therefore, youths are attracted to the plot sensitivity that is depicted in a very exact manner in Korean films. Usha Lama, a diehard fan of Korean movies said, "Korean movies are very simple and easy to understand and are not artificial. Most of them are like our daily lives".
Film director Thapa hailed the presentation of Korean movies, saying that most of them are very sentimental. "Most of the stories comes from the young generation and revolves around their lives, which really touches the hearts and sentiments of today's youth", said Thapa.
Korea Times Correspondent
KATHMANDU ― Films are one way to express the culture, life, human relations, religion and values of a particular country. One can get an idea about a particular country from a film, which one may not get from reading dozens of books.
Korean films are becoming immensely popular across the globe. Previously, filmgoers in Nepal had Hollywood and Bollywood, but the current movie craze is popularly known as Kollywood.
The Nepali film market is small and mostly produces low budget films. It was traditionally influenced by the Indian movie industry. Now the emphasis has entirely shifted to Korean movies. "My Sassy Girl", one of the most successful Korean movies, has become the latest source of inspiration for the Nepali film industry.
"My Small World", the Nepali version of "My Sassy Girl", has been the country's biggest hit at the box office in 2009.
Not only Korean box office hits but also smaller-scale Korean movies are equally popular here. "The market for Korean films has gone up by 200 percent. It has overtaken both the Hollywood and Bollywood markets here", said Ramesh Dhakal, who sells Korean, Indian, Hollywood, and other movies in Kathmandu. Due to modern technology like DVDs, watching movies at home is far easier than having to go to the movie theater.
Similarly, Korean fashion, clothing and hairstyles are popular in Nepal among the younger generation, due to the influence of Korean movies.
A recently released Nepali film, "I Have a Friend" was highly successful but the key to the film's success was Korean movie "A Millionaires' First Love".
"It was an experiment to see what the public's reaction would be if I took my inspiration from a foreign movie. The trial was successful as moviegoers liked my film", said the film's director, Sudarshan Thapa.
The impact of Korean movies on Nepali films is growing. Despite the fact that most Nepali moviegoers do not understand the Korean language, the market is surging. "It was just 3 years ago that Korean movies started to become popular here", said another seller, Ganesh Ghimire. Most of the merchants felt that Korean movies began growing in popularity from 2007 and that the market is skyrocketing in Nepal as it continues to prosper worldwide.
The interest in Korean cinema began following an agreement between the countries to send laborers from Nepal to Korea on a regular basis. Knowledge of the Korean language was a prerequisite for the workers and demand for films in the language surged. The majority of the training centers used movies to teach the language. A trend was established and even those who did not understand Korean began to ask for the movies.
Even the demand for films that aren't new releases is high. Requests for the eight-year-old "My Sassy Girl", six-year-old "A Millionaires' First Love" and "Taegukgi", released five years ago, are continuous. Romance movies are more popular than any other genre.
After the enormous success of "My Sassy Girl", the impact of the industry began to grow. Other film industries in Asia began to imitate the film and distribute similar movies on a large scale. The arrogant and proud woman in "My Sassy Girl" was in stark contrast to the portrayal of other female characters in Asian cinema. This was the major factor that compelled filmmakers and directors to emulate it.
Another reason for the success of Korean films in Nepal is their regular appearance at film festivals. Last year four Korean films were chosen to appear at a four-day festival in Kathmandu, further portraying elements of Korean life, culture and society. Although Korea and Nepal are far apart geographically their cultural, social and religious lives have much in common.
According to a source at the Korean embassy, the film festival's organizers in Kathmandu have invited more Korean films to appear.
"This film festival is expected to serve as a good chance to gain further insight into Korea ― its language, lifestyles, politics, society, and culture. I hope this will help all the viewers better understand the country, thus contributing to fostering the friendly relationship between the people of the two countries", said Hang Sungmog, Ambassador to Korea, during the opening of the festival.
Why are Korean films becoming so popular? Simple: Korean films are based on ordinary subject matter, and feature strong plots and perfect acting.
This impression is shared by most Nepali film directors. Western movies are distancing themselves from common human behavior and sensitivity towards life. Therefore, youths are attracted to the plot sensitivity that is depicted in a very exact manner in Korean films. Usha Lama, a diehard fan of Korean movies said, "Korean movies are very simple and easy to understand and are not artificial. Most of them are like our daily lives".
Film director Thapa hailed the presentation of Korean movies, saying that most of them are very sentimental. "Most of the stories comes from the young generation and revolves around their lives, which really touches the hearts and sentiments of today's youth", said Thapa.
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