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The success of the Korean film industry has not gone unnoticed in Hollywood, with a number
of movies having been remade with American audiences in mind.
Arirang's Hwang Ji-hye reports on the potential of Korean films and television series... and
the challenges that remain. This lakeside path looks quite familiar.
It's a scene from the 2006 American romantic drama "Lake House," which was a remake of
the Korean film "Siworae." The publication rights of around 30 Korean
films have been sold in Hollywood over the past 15 years,... and some of them were remade,
including classics like "Oldboy", "My Sassy Girl" and "The Uninvited."
Roy Lee, a well-known American film producer known for taking Asian films and remaking
them for audiences in the United States says... he was surprised by the production values
and storylines in Korean movies.
"They were also original stories that I have never seen before done in English. So when
I saw movies like "My Wife's a Gangster" or "The Lake House," I thought those are the
movies I would want to see myself if they were in English."
The adaptations of Korean films, however, have yet to find widespread success in the
U.S. market... as Americanized versions often end up being drained of the weirdness... that
made them so popular in Korea.
"And industry sources say that writers and directors of original Korean contents should
also participate in the remaking process in Hollywood to increase the chances of the new
version being a success.
"I think they have to share their passion and also about the whole movie insight. So
that they understand fully, then they recreate not remake."
And it's not just Korean films that are being eyed by Hollywood producers.
Korean TV series are also getting attention. Nine have already been picked up by Fake Empire
Productions,... the company behind a number of hit shows like "Gossip Girl" and "The O.C."
"Hollywood definitely looks to Korea as like a trendsetter in Asia because a lot of the
TV shows and movies that are popular in Korea are also popular in Japan and China."
Roy Lee adds that as long as the Korean movie industry continues to take chances with new
contents, it will have a marketplace worldwide. Hwang Ji-hye, Arirang News, Los Angeles.