Festival or box office? The critical reception of Spring in My Hometown and the debate over the direction of Korean cinema 1998-1999

This chapter investigates the media discussion that followed the international critical success of Spring in My Hometown (Arŭmdaun sijŏl, 1998) and spectacular domestic commercial performance of Shiri (1999). This debate concerned the future of the South Korean film industry and the type of cinema it should produce to survive in an age of greater competition from direct distribution by Hollywood majors. I focus on the place of Spring in My Hometown within this discussion at a critical juncture in Korean cinematic history. I analyze Korean language articles from South Korean film magazines and journals. These interviews, reviews, and reports cover the production, release, reception, and international performance of Spring in My Hometown. Previous research has paid little attention to the function of critics as shapers of both public discourses and official policy on Korean cinema. This study reveals critics to be influential voices in South Korean film. It examines intellectual discourses on the value of national cultural creation during a 1990’s period of cinematic transformation; it analyses the forces shaping the debate and explores the significance of this 1990s discussion to our understanding of the South Korean film industry in the present.