Abstract
During the past decade South Korea, Japan, and China have made significant strides in international film exports and their film industries have often been utilized as tools of cultural diplomacy. Lovric analyzes some of the most successful government policies, compares common cinematic themes in popular national films, and evaluates films’ soft-power potential in advancing diplomatic agendas. By examining the dominant cinematic narratives and offering a brief historical overview of their respective film industries, he traces the most common trends and explores how popular films shape the perception of producers’ culture abroad. The issues of soft power and its implications for the relationship between the dominant genres and the idea of a nation are discussed.
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Filmography
3-Iron (빈집). Directed by Kim Ki-duk. 2004.
A Moment to Remember (내 머리 속의 지우개). Directed by John H. Lee. 2004.
A Wedding Invitation (分手合约). Directed by Oh Ki-Hwan. 2013.
Arietti (借りぐらしのアリエッテ). Directed by Hiromasa Yonebayashi. 2010.
Assembly (集结号). Directed by Feng Xiaogang. 2007.
Beach Boys (ビーチボーイズ). Directed by Ishizaka Reiko, Sawada Kensaku, and Kimura Tatsuaki. 1997.
Big Fish & Begonia (大鱼海). Directed by Liang Xuan and Zhang Chun. 2016.
Brave Hearts: Umizaru (海猿). Directed by Eiichiro Hasumi. 2012.
Colorful (カラフル). Directed by Keiichi Hara. 2010.
Curse of the Golden Flower (滿城盡帶黃金甲). Directed by Zhang Yimou. 2006.
Fearless (霍元甲). Directed by Ronny Yu. 2006.
Forbidden Love (魔女の条件). Directed by Nobuhiro Doi, Kazuhiro Naniwa, and Osamu Katayama. 1999.
From Up on Poppy Hill (コクリコ坂から). Directed by Gorō Miyazaki. 2011.
House of Flying Daggers (十面埋伏). Directed by Zhang Yimou. 2004.
Howl’s Moving Castle (ハウルの動く城). Directed by Hayao Miyazaki. 2004.
I’m a Cyborg, But That’s OK (싸이보그지만 괜찮아). Directed by Park Chan-wook. 2006.
Independence Day: Resurgence. Directed by Roland Emmerich. 2016.
Iron Man 3. Directed by Shane Black. 2013.
Journey to the West: Conquering the Demons (西遊·降魔篇). Directed by Stephen Chow and Derek Kwok. 2013.
Kundun. Directed by Martin Scorsese. 1997.
Lost in Thailand (人再囧途之泰囧). Directed by Xu Zheng. 2012.
Miracle in Cell No. 7 (7번방의 선물). Directed by Lee Hwan-kyung. 2013.
Monkey King: Hero Is Back (西游记之大圣归来). Directed by Tian Xiaopeng. 2015.
Monster Hunt (捉妖记). Directed by Raman Hui. 2015.
Oldboy (올드보이). Directed by Park Chan-wook. 2003.
Ponyo (崖の上のポニョ). Directed by Hayao Miyazaki. 2008.
Pride and Prejudice and Zombies. Directed by Burr Steers. 2016.
Princess Mononoke (もののけ姫). Directed by Hayao Miyazaki. 1997.
Red Cliff I (赤壁). Directed by John Woo. 2008.
Red Cliff II (赤壁: 決戰天下). Directed by John Woo. 2009.
Red Corner. Directed by Jon Avnet. 1997.
Red Dawn. Directed by Dan Bradley. 2012.
Seven Years in Tibet. Directed by Jean-Jacques Annaud. 1997.
Stand by Me Doraemon (ドラえもん). Directed by Ryuichi Yagi and Takashi Yamazaki. 2014.
Tae Guk Gi: The Brotherhood of War (태극기 휘날리며). Directed by Kang Je-gyu. 2004.
Tales from Earthsea (ゲド戦記). Directed by Gorō Miyazaki. 2006.
The Boy and the Beast (バケモノの子). Directed by Mamoru Hosoda. 2015.
The Host (괴물). Directed by Bong Joon-ho. 2006.
The Man from Nowhere (아저씨). Directed by Lee Jung-beom. 2010.
The Martian. Directed by Ridley Scott. 2015.
The Mermaid (美人鱼). Directed by Stephen Chow. 2016.
The Monkey King (西游记之大闹天宫). Directed by Cheang Pou-Soi. 2014.
The Thieves (도둑들). Directed by Choi Dong-hoon. 2012.
The Wind Rises (風立ちぬ). Directed by Hayao Miyazaki. 2013.
Tidal Wave (해운대). Directed by Yoon Je-kyoon. 2009.
Tokyo Cinderella Story (妹よ). Directed by Kozo Nagayama and Tohru Hayashi. 1994.
Train to Busan (부산행). Directed by Yeon Sang-ho. 2016.
Transformers: Age of Extinction. Directed by Michael Bay. 2014.
Veteran (베테랑). Directed by Ryoo Seung-wan. 2015.
World War Z. Directed by Marc Forster. 2013.
X-men: Days of Future Past. Directed by Bryan Singer. 2014.
Yamato (男たちの大和). Directed by Junya Satō. 2005.
Your Name (君の名は). Directed by Makoto Shinkai. 2016.
Acknowledgements
Timely completion of this chapter could not have been possible without the generous assistance of several colleagues and friends. Their contributions are sincerely appreciated and gratefully acknowledged. I am indebted to Dani Madrid-Morales for his support and insightful comments regarding the flow of East Asian cultural products as well as his overall critique of the chapter. I would also like to thank Miriam Hernandez and Ernest Chang for their generous suggestions, fresh ideas, and endless patience in dealing with me during the revision process.
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Lovric, B. (2018). From Film Stories to National Soft Power: Policies and Film Content of South Korea, Japan, and China. In: Magnan-Park, A., Marchetti, G., Tan, S. (eds) The Palgrave Handbook of Asian Cinema. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-349-95822-1_29
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