영화작가 이창동 감독의 영화연구 -한국영화가 다시 살아나는 길을 위한 모색-

It is now 2008, the Korean film industry is in the worst depression ever. The Korean film community including critics, professors, and other film experts have analyzed the causes and argued that the depression is attributed to multiple sources such as market demolition for additional rights, lack of organizational competency, failed profit system and so on. However, most of these analyses focus on external factors in the industry instead of the overall quality of movies, which is the at the heart of the current crisis of film industry. Has the quality of Korean movies declined? If so, what are the factors contributing to the decline? In order to answer these questions, this paper analyzes a series of films directed by Chang-Dong Lee. Based on the analysis of how director, Chang-Dong Lee, approached the characters in his films, this paper argues for the strength of integrated and honest approach to humanity in movies on their overall quality, which has long been undervalued and dismissed for a concern for completion of films. Specifically, this study focuses on the long standing problem of the majority of Korean films, the lack of humanism, through the detailed analysis of Chang-Dong Lee`s films. This paper emphasizes how important it is for a director to care for the characters in his/her movie and describes how positively humanism and realism sought by directors contribute to better quality and completeness of the movies.