In the case of Korean movies that were financed and distributed by major investment companies, 40 to 100 employees of the investment company were mentioned in the credits. (image: Korea Bizwire)
SEOUL, Jan. 17 (Korea Bizwire) — Before and after the screening of a film, the names of the people and groups participating in the movie appear on the screen as credits.
Having one’s name appear in the credits is very important as it becomes a record of one’s career and is directly related to future work and income.
This is why actors fight to get their names featured prominently in the credits.
However, the South Korean film industry seems to have a unique pecking order for credits. CEOs of investment companies and the name of investors appear before the producers.
South Korea is the only country to put investors before the creators. This custom was introduced in the early 2000s, when the structure of the movie industry changed with large corporate capital introduced.
Recently, voices in the movie industry have criticized the old practice of writing credits.
A producer referred to only as Ryu tried to change the practice and wrote names of the investment firms in the ending credits instead of the opening credits.
The Korean Film Council recently released a report on how to improve credit practices as well.
The report analyzed released movies over the last three years, and South Korea was the only country where the names of the representatives and employees of the investment distributor came before the producers.
In the case of Korean movies that were financed and distributed by major investment companies, 40 to 100 employees of the investment company were mentioned in the credits.
Compared to American films, which list names in order of actors, casting director, music director, costume designer, associate producer, director of photography, writer and director, Korean investment companies seem to be taking advantage of their status as investors.
Based on the results, the report presented detailed guides such as the classification of duties and positions as well as prioritizing producers and directors when writing credits.
D. M. Park (dmpark@koreabizwire.com)
