UCLA Center for East Asian Studies
South Korean Film Awards, 2000
Several observers argue that this is the "golden age" of Korean cinema. Film attendance is up and many films are winning international recognition. According to the Korean Film Commission, in 2000 140 Korean films were shown in 138 film festivals (in 1999, 93 films went to 73 film fests). Of these, 15 films won 22 awards (up from 11 films winning 14 awards in 1999 (Korea Herald, Dec. 30, 2000).
The 21st Blue Dragon Awards were presented on Dec. 1, 2000. The nationally televised ceremony itself generated some controversy due to the revealing dress worn by host Kim Hye-soo. MBC, the network televising the ceremony, received a barrage of critical phone calls and the message area of the network's website was filled with protests (Korea Herald, Dec. 8, 2000).
Best film: "Joint Security Area" (Park Chan-wook, dir.)
Best director: Park Chan-wook ("Joint Security Area")
Best screenplay: Lee Chang-dong ("Peppermint Candy")
Best actor: Sol Kyong-gu ("Peppermint Candy") and Lee Mi-yon ("Pisces")
Best actress: Bae Du-na ("Flander's Dog")
(The Korea Herald, Dec. 12, 2000)
The Korean Feminist Artist Group surveyed 1,000 women and made the following awards for films released in 2000:
Best Korean films: 1. "Joint Security Area" 2. "Ditto" 3. "Flander's Dog"
Worst Korean films: 1. "LaBelle" 2. "Bichonmu" 3. "Youth"
Best foreign films: 1. "Erin Brockovich" 2. "All About My Mother" 3. "The Things You Can Tell By Looking at Her"
Worst foreign films: 1. "Austin Powers" 2. "Mission Impossible 2" 3. "Autumn in New York"
Women make up the majority of the theater-going audience in Korea. Some 38% of adult women see 1-2 films a month.
Source: The Korea Herald, Dec. 23, 2000.
In 2000, Im Kwon-taek's "Chunhyang" became the first Korean film to be nominated for an Academy Award (best foreign language film). Although it was a commercial failure in Korea, "Chunhyang" was selected to be screened at the Cannes Film Festival.
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