The 국도 예술관 and Korea's National Movie Industry

Last year, after the 2010 edition of the Busan International Film Festival, I compared Busan's yearly cinema celebration with a movie theater that is dear to my heart, namely the Bytowne cinema in Ottawa.  When I did so, I had not forgotten the distinction between a movie theater and a movie festival.  I simply thought that only during the BIFF would it be possible to view movies in Busan like those shown every day at the Bytowne cinema in Ottawa.

Well, I was wrong...  Busan has an independent cinema house very similar to the Bytowne cinema, called the Guk-Do theater (국도 예술관).   

The 국도 예술관 is located in the Daeyeon district of Busan (대연동).  There, on a quiet residential street, not far from the UN Memorial Park (UN기념공원) and the Busan Cultural Center (부산시문화회관), the 국도 예술관 shares a space with a concert venue known as the Karam concert hall (가람 예술관).  Together, they are known as the Guk-Do and Karam Fine Art Hall (국도와가람 예술관).

The street in front of the 국도 예술관.

The entrance of the 국도와가람 예술관.

When I discovered the 국도 예술관, I expected that many foreign films (films made outside of Korea) would be shown there.  Many foreign films are indeed shown at the 국도 예술관.  In the last few months, films from the United States, from Germany, from France and from Japan were shown.  But to my surprise, a large number of the films shown during the same period were made in Korea.

Posters advertising the films showing at the 국도 예술관.

Korea, I discovered, has a thriving independent film industry.  Many small budget films, often featuring realistic portrayals of life in Korea, are made every year.  Films like Re-encounter (혜화, 동), a drama about a woman who's ex-lover reappears in her life after a prolonged absence and tells her that her daughter, who she thought had died, is actually alive and living with a family nearby.  Or like The Day He Arrives (북촌 방향), about the adventures of a group of friends in Seoul's BukChon neighbourhood (북촌).  Or like The Journals of Musan (무산일기), based on the true story of a North Korean defector living in Seoul.  This latter film gained international recognition earlier this year, receiving honours at film festivals in Korea, Morocco, France, the Netherlands, and Poland.

I enjoyed watching these films, in spite of my lack of knowledge of the Korean language, because all of them contained beautiful images of Korea.  In addition, via the actors' visual cues, I could understand pretty well what was going on during most scenes, especially if I had read an English synopsis beforehand.  I highly recommend these films.  And if you're in Busan, you should check out the 국도 예술관.