For Chinese cinema, every day is a feast. As many as 15 screens are newly added each day. Currently, the box office revenue in China is CNY 29.6 billion, which is bigger than that of last year by 36.15%, and local films account for more than 54.5% of the total revenue. To boost it even further, the Chinese government promises ongoing support for the film industry. Hollywood studios keep sending proposals to the Chinese market for co-production, shooting on location and co-marketing. And this very Chinese cinema and filmmakers think highly of Korean cinema’s competitiveness and keep on trying for collaboration and co-production. Let us take a look at the brief history of Korea-China collaboration and see where it is headed for.
 
The Era of “Real” Collaboration 

 

Previous Korea-China collaborations can be divided into three rough categories: first, where Korean directors, writers and actors participate in the Chinese domestic film production; secondly, where both cinemas conduct location-shooting in each other’s country and get support from the local institutions; and lastly, where both countries co-invest, co-produce and share the profit. Here, the full-scale collaboration would be the third case where the responsibilities are all shared in terms of investment, production and profit.

 

So far, Korean filmmakers often participated in Chinese films in the form of human resource exports. Helios would be a good example. It was released this year and collected CNY 200 million. It is a troika project directed by a Hong Kong filmmaker, made with Chinese investment and setting, and featuring two main Korean actors: JI Jin-hee and CHOI Si-won.

 

Directors have been active too. AN Byung-ki of Bunshinsaba (2012) pioneered the Chinese horror cinema market, and KWAK Jae-yong’s Meet Miss Anxiety (2014) made CNY 160 million. Likewise, the most common collaboration form is directors bringing in their own staff along with them. For early collaborations, shooting in China was common, as seen in The Anarchists (2000), Bichunmoo (2000) and Musa-The Warrior (2001).

 

The idea that the era of full-scale collaboration, which goes beyond sharing filming locations, arrived in 2013. The trigger was A Wedding Invitation. Directed by Korean director OH Ki-hwan, it featured Chinese actors like BAI Bai He and was co-produced by Korea’s CJ Entertainment and several production houses in China. It is considered to have pioneered the melodrama genre in China and earned CNY 192 million profit. KIM Yong-hwa’s 3D film Mr. Go (2013) is also based on a Korean scenario, co-invested by Korea and China, and targeted at the Chinese market. There have been five Korea-China co-invested projects as of the end of the first half of 2015, including CHANG Yoon-hyun’s Peaceful Island, which is gearing up for theatrical release. Finally, the era of real, substantial Korea-China collaboration has arrived. 

 

 

Blind, which sold 2.36 million tickets in Korea in 2011 has been remade to The Witness in China and is set for an October release. Helmed by the original director AHN Sang-hoon again, it features YANG Mi, the top Chinese actress who is famous for her works in Painted Skin 2 (2012), and Luhan, a former member of K-pop idol group EXO. 

 

The Witness, which considered as an exemplary Korea-China collaboration, was from the beginning planned for both Korean and Chinese versions. Somehow Blind was first released in Korea, and while developing ideas for remakes, Chinese New Clues Film approached for a partnership and accelerated the progress: pre-production began in April, 2014. Making Family, produced by Korea’s Hanmac Culture Corporation and Agrace, is set for a January, 2016 release.

 

Directed by CHO Jin-mo of Suspicious Customers (2011), it is a comic family drama following the journey of a boy, who is born from sperm donation, in search for his biological father. It features KIM Ha-neul of Blind, Korean child actor Mason MOON Moorhouse, and Chinese actress LI Zhiting of Tales of Mystery.

 

This is the first co-production project since the Korea-Chinese Film Co-production Agreement that was signed in July, 2014. The story was developed in Korea, and the team found the Chinese partner. China’s Media Vision Entertainment Group invested 70% of the total budget while Korea’s Signal Entertainment Group and Daemyung Culture Entertainment also invested. In addition, Jonathan H. KIM, CEO of Hanmac Culture Corporation, is preparing some 12 Korea-China co-production projects. 
 
Case 2:
Investment for Corporation

 

Recently, Emperor Entertainment Group, the biggest entertainment company in Hong Kong signed a KRW 10 billon (USD 8.4 million) investment deal with Group Eight, the production house in charge of LEE Young-ae and SONG Seung-heon starring TV drama Saimdang The Herstory, through its subsidiary Emperor Entertainment Korea (EEK). Listed among the 10 richest corporations in Hong Kong, Emperor Entertainment Group has announced its plan to invest USD 100 million in Korean entertainment business, again through EEK.

 

Likewise, owing much to Korean wave, there are a handful of Chinese enterprises investing in and/or entering the Korean entertainment industry. The biggest beneficiary in the film industry is Next Entertainment World: it obtained a KRW 53.5 billion (USD 45 million) investment from China’s Zhejiang Huace Film & TV in 2014, for the first time for a Korean company. With Huace’s investment, N.E.W. listed its shares on the Korean stock market (KOSDAQ). It is expanding its business realm to music (MUSIC & N.E.W.), stage performance (SHOW & N.E.W.), value added copyrights circulation (Contents Panda), and TV (DRAMA & N.E.W.), in addition to its film distribution major.

 

On the other hand, Wanda Group that owns Wanda Cinema and Wanda Media invested USD 10 million in Korean director KIM Yong-hwa’s VFX studio, Dexter Digital in May this year. Dexter also signed another USD 10 million equity investment pact with Legend Capital of Legend Holdings Group, the majority shareholder in Lenovo.
 
Case 3:
Pioneering the Technology and Animation Business

 

Starting from Dexter, which has secured the Chinese investment earlier, many Korean post-production companies are participating in Chinese films with their VFX or 3D converting expertise. It is already well known that Korean VFX companies have contributed to the development of Chinese SF marshal art movies such as Young Detective Dee (2013) and The Monkey King (2014). Dexter, the top runner, established Dexter China this year.

 

MACROGRAPH (Roaring Currents, 2014) is one of those companies: Macrograph started its business in China with CHOW Sing Chi’s Journey to the West: Conquering the Demons (2013) and is currently handling the VFX for his newest film The Mermaid (2015) and a Bruce Willis-starrer, The Bombing. Also, Real D Square and Next Media, the top two 3D convergence companies in Korea, have already made their ways to the 3D convergence market in China.

 

In addition, the animation sector is currently knocking on the Chinese market with TV series. MoonWatcher Co., Ltd’s Legend Heroes is a special shooting work for children made with Korean technology and Chinese investment from China Film Group, the country’s biggest state-owned entertainment company. It aims to be on China’s brown screen within this year. MoonWatcher is also preparing a theatrical animation based on Fly, Superboard, targeting at the Chinese market. Funnyux Entertainment co-produces Superwings Season 2, children’s TV animation aired by EBS, with China. For Superwings, Funnyux Entertainment signed a USD 7 million biz partnership MOU with Guangdong Alpha Animation & Culture. As there is a clear increase in the demand of theater animations in China, Korean animation companies are expected to have more presence in China.

 

 

Find a good partner. The most important thing to do is to develop a trust-based relationship with a good partner. However, you must first be a good partner yourself. Don’t just demand what you need, but also consider whether you have what they need. 
 

 

If you are planning a collaboration with China, you must visit China. Stay for a few weeks first, and then for a few months again. You must understand China and its culture to write a good scenario. You must work with good, creative people, and people with work ethics.