한국 상업영화, 캐릭터의 획일성과 비확장성에 대한 연구

Abstract

Despite all the challenges involved in the field of film production in Korea, recently released films have gained increasing popularity and the industry is flourishing and expanding gradually. Accordingly, the range and the number of star actors are greater than ever and it certainly is true that the number of the actors with good acting skills has dramatically increased recently. These actors are playing an important role in sustaining the Korean film industry and attracting audiences with high expectations of them. Just mentioning a the names of those actors, Song Kang-Ho, Choi Min-sik, Lee Byung-hun, Kim Yoon-seok, Ha Jung-woo, Kang Dong-Won, Yoo Ah-in, Lee Jung-jae, Sol Kyung-gu, etc. come up to the scene, which indicates the increased number and diversity of actors, compared to the ones in 1990s-2000s when there were a few such leading actors. Nonetheless, when we think about the acting and performance of these actors, we think of the typical and formulaic film characters that have dominated Choongmoo-ro movie market instead of their deep-thought-out characters representing different persona. When we watch a movie (even a movie of a fantastic genre), we get to see the world with multiple dimensions through projecting ourselves to and understanding a human being (not a person who is acting) who is likely to exist somewhere around us. However, the joy of meeting such characters in Korean films is hard to come by nowadays. Only stars and actors, not characters, seem to exist on the movie screen, which is a clear indication that they serve to the profit-seeking investors and companies. The present paper examines the historical changes of film characters of males, females, the elderly, adolescents, and children in Korean big-budget movies. It reveals the problems inherent in the realizations of characters in those blockbusters that are dominating the current film market in Korea. Specifically, it suggests the ways to promote new character developments and what it means to act deep-thought-out human characters in movies.