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The first ever
Korean Film Festival in Nigeria which started in Abuja, as part of the
Korean Embassy activities celebrating the 30th anniversary of Korea’s
diplomatic relationship with Nigeria, ended on the evening of Friday,
August 22 with a screening of the movie, Le Grand Chef (The Grand Chef).

During the
week-long festival, no fewer than 2000 Nigerians, members of the
diplomatic corps, and friends of Koreans resident in Abuja, were
treated to the best of Korean movies, carefully selected by the Korean
Cultural Centre for the delight of their guests.

Featured films

The festival, which
opened on Monday, August 16, and was attended by an average of two
hundred people in a day, featured films like ‘Take Off”, ‘Rough Cut’,
‘Hwang-Jin-Yi’, ‘The King and the Clown’ and Jeon Yoon-Soo’s acclaimed
‘Le Grand Chef’ which most of the audience described as the star film
of the festival.

The Grand Chef is a
culturally rich movie which tells the story of a special cooking knife.
The last Korean Royal Chef of the Chosun Dynasty, in brazen display of
his loyalty to his king and patriotism to his country, cut off his
right arm to avoid being forced to cook for the Japanese bureaucrat of
the time. Years later, deeply moved by the Chef’s conviction, the
Japanese decides to return the special knife to Korea, and to whoever
who deserves to own it.

To determine the
rightful owner of the royal knife, the bureaucrat’s son announces a
cooking contest to find the best cook for this knife. Thus, the
predestined cooking contests between two grandsons of the two
apprentices of the royal chef.

The high point of
the movie, which drew applause from the audience, is the manner in
which the movie uses food recipes to discuss such national issues as
internal democracy, as represented by the recipes the eventual and
rightful winner uses to cook the ‘secret king’s soup’ during the final
of the cooking contest.

The Korean Wave – Hallyuwood

America has
Hollywood, India has Bollywood, and Nigeria has Nollywood. Likewise,
Korea has its own ‘Hallyuwood.’ This newly-coined word combines the
meanings of the word “han (hal),” for Korea, and “ryu (lyu),” which
means ‘wave’. When these two Korean syllables are put together, it
gives us a new word meaning “Korean Wave.”

The Korean Wave is
a trend of increasing popularity for Korean pop culture, including
television dramas, films, and music in Asia and around the world. This
phenomenon began in the latter half of 1990s and is still growing and
spreading worldwide, including the Middle East and South America.

Some Korean TV
dramas have also been introduced to Nigerian audiences. “Jewel in the
Palace” aired on AIT; “The Painter of the Wind” is now being shown on
the same channel every Sunday morning; while “Winter Sonata” is also
being broadcast by the National Television Authority (NTA).

Silent motion
pictures were first introduced to Korea in 1903, and the first movie
with sound was produced in 1935. During the 1950s, the government made
great efforts to promote the film industry and later introduced a
screen quota system to ensure that domestically produced films had the
opportunity to be shown widely. In the 1960s, Korea witnessed its first
golden age of the film industry. After a setback in the 1970s caused by
the widespread penetration of television, the film industry rebounded
with even greater strength, thanks to increased investment by large
companies into film making and distribution in the 1980s. With the
emergence of young, talented film directors and the liberalisation of
the market, Korean movies began to occupy a major share of the domestic
market and Korean film exports started to grow. All these have laid the
foundation for the Korean Wave and the subsequent popularity of Korean
films all over Asia; and lately Africa and the rest of the world.

In his remarks at
the opening of the festival, the Korean Ambassador to Nigeria, Park
Young-Kuk said, “Korean films have developed on the strength of
incessant creativity, despite challenges from international film
markets like Hollywood. I hope you will be able to see and appreciate
the different styles and merits of Korean films, and enjoy what they
have to offer.”

A reward for friendship

As a means of
engaging the interest of festival goers, 20 Nigerians received various
prizes, ranging from Satellite TV decoders, wristwatches, footballs,
phones and other valuables as a reward for their friendship with the
Korean Embassy in Nigeria. One recipient, 28-year-old Amarachi Amunabu,
commended the Korean Cultural Centre for present and also commented on
the featured movies. “I have watched all of the five movies featured
and I must say that I am impressed at the quality of creativity and
positive projection of the ways of life of the Koreans. The quality
also is superb and commendable. I have always thought Asian movies are
all about kung fu. This is the first time I am watching a subject-based
Asian movie and I am very happy to have had the opportunity.”

In his speech, Suh
Jeong Sun, Director of the Korean Cultural Centre in Abuja, indicated
that the festival is to become a yearly event. “The Korean Film
Festival in Nigeria will hold every year. The 2011 edition will take
place in Lagos and Sierra Leone while the 2012 edition will return to
Abuja,” he said For Abuja residents whose interest may have been
sparked by the festival, Mr Sun had this announcement: “If you love
Korean movies, you can visit the Korean Cultural Centre’ studio every
first and last Fridays of the month for a free show of Korean movies.”