The Park Geun-hye government’s cultural policies are “retro,” and the Culture Ministry’s clock is apparently running backward to the time of authoritarian regimes.
The Korean Film Council, which had said it planned to rate film festival entries, now says the plan has been postponed for the time being. Yet, the film industry remains concerned that the government will ultimately implement the plan in order to censor films that are critical of the government, as was done when the country was ruled by a succession of authoritarian regimes.
Already, there have been several casualties of the film council’s plan to rate films to be screened at festivals. The latest victim is the Korean Academy of Film Arts’ film festival featuring works by this year’s graduates. The alma mater of most of today’s prominent Korean directors announced the festival cancellation just three days before it was to kick off, explaining that it could not obtain a recommendation for exemption from ratings from the Korean Film Council.
Since 1998, film festival entries have been exempt from ratings. The freedom from what could amount to censorship is largely credited with making BIFF Asia’s premier film festival, noted for its independence: The exemption allows BIFF to show the latest trends in film as well as provocative films.
The move to institute ratings of film festival entries appears to stem from the screening of “Diving Bell,” a controversial documentary on the Sewol ferry disaster, during last year’s BIFF despite Busan Mayor Suh Byung-soo’s opposition. Suh is said to have pressured BIFF’s commissioner to step down from his post. The government meddling in a film festival is another anachronistic move.
In yet another case of outdated policy, the Culture Ministry announced that it would limit ministry-selected “best books” to those in the “pure literature” genre. The term “pure literature,” used during the time of authoritarian rule to distinguish “literature for literature’s sake” from left-leaning literature, fell out of fashion after the country achieved democratization. Besides, limiting “best books” to a certain category may stifle the development of other literary genres. Indeed, this may be an opportune time to consider abolishing the Culture Ministry’s “best books” program altogether. A program that has the government select “best books” smacks of totalitarianism.
We live in a time where diversity and plurality are valued and encouraged. This is why the government’s cultural policies that appear to mute its critics and opposition as well as diverse perspectives are anachronistic and should be abandoned before the society regresses to the dark days.
