Kim Pil-jung Talks About KOFIC Beijing

Oct 03, 2025 CFM Co-production, Daily, Don't Miss, From Partner 0

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KOFIC Project Showcase in Beijing

Since Korean Film Council (KOFIC), the government-backed film organization, opened the Korean Film Business Center in Beijing in 2012, the business center along with KOFIC Beijing office have supported a slate of China-Korea co-productions and collaborations.

KOFIC holds four showcases in Beijing for Korean filmmakers annually since 2012, each including about six projects selected by filmmakers with China-Korea co-production experiences. The showcase will introduce the projects to Chinese investors.

Kim Pil-jung, Manager of KOFIC Beijing office, gives us a closer look at how KOFIC Beijing works:

Since China and Korea signed the co-production agreement in 2014, more Korean production companies and filmmakers are trying to enter the Chinese film industry.

We are receiving more admissions for the showcases in Beijing. Once their projects are selected, they could get a maximum of there months support from KOFIC Beijing, including hotel lodging (80 percent subsidy), translation and interpretation services, participation in educational programs, networking opportunities with local film experts and business office space among others.

KOFIC has been doing the project showcase for almost four years. It has become a mature platform for companies and filmmakers from South Korea and China to communicate with each other.

But no matter with a project or not, Korean filmmakers could make KOFIC Beijing as the first leg of their trip in China to get a better understanding of the Chinese film industry.

Rom-com was the top pick in the past four years probably because rom-coms are easier to move forward. They get a better shot at passing the Chinese government’s censorship and many Korean directors are experienced in making rom-coms. Meanwhile, there was also a time when Chinese film studios were particularly fond of producing rom-coms.

But now I think this kind of film is getting hard to make, as there are too many out there already. With the rapid development, Chinese film market has started embracing a wider range of genres, including thrillers, dramas, crime movies, etc. The China-Korea co-productions and collaborations will also extend to different kind of movies.

In Korea, genre films like thrillers and actions have already matured to the stage that they could be successful commercial films. So it would not be that difficult for Korean directors to make such a genre film in China. But it’s a different case if they try to direct a not-clearly-identified film, such as a half-drama-half-romance movie, as they may find it hard to get to the audience with a different cultural background.

For Korean filmmakers, I would say it is better for them to come to China with a story instead of trying to write a story after being here. The film market in China is changing fast and the bar set by the audience is getting higher. So filmmakers need to have a complete story, the kind of story they are good at, to impress the investors in China. If the story is good, no matter in China or Korea, people will accept it.

For all kinds of teams that try to work in China, such as cinematography, lighting and music, they probably need to prepare for the obstacles they may encounter. With a different working environment and a different language, it is easier to cause a misunderstanding. They could take more time to communicate with their Chinese counterparts to wipe out the possibility of confusion.

 

 

 

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• BIFF, Busan, ko-production, KOFIC, Korea