Yu-Min Joo

Creative City of Film, Busan

Yu-Min Joo

November 30, 2021

City Context and Challenges

• The second city of Korea.

• Population: 3.4 million.

• Total area: 769.89km.²

• Largest seaport in Korea.

• Population by the metropolitan cities and provinces in South Korea, 2019

• GRDP by the metropolitan cities and provinces in South Korea, 2019

City Context and Challenges

GRDP of Busan / GDP (%), 1985-2019

Source: KOSIS

Population change over the years in Busan, 1966-2019

Source: KOSIS

• Deindustrialization of its key labor-intensive light industries (textiles,

footwear, leather, and processed food) and the difficulty of finding a

new economic drive.

Assets and Resources

• Geographic location, modern history, and unique places

• Korea’s first international port, opened in 1876.

• Main Japanese gateway during the Japanese colonization (1910-1945).

• Served as a temporary capital city of South Korea (1950, 1951-1953) and accommodated war refugees during the Korean War.

40-step stairway

Filmlove CC BY-SA 3.0

Gukje Market

Christophe95 CC BY-SA 4.0

Gamcheon cultural village

Ken Eckert CC BY-SA 4.0

Gwangalli beach

Richard Irwin, Public domain

Assets and Resources

• Mapping of CCIs:

Total number of firms in CCIs in Busan and its percentage (Busan/nation) Total employment in CCIs in Busan and its percentage (Busan/nation)

Total sales in CCIs in Busan and its percentage (Busan/nation) Note: CCIs include publishing, music, film, animation, comics, game, character

licensing, broadcasting, advertising,

knowledge and information, and contents solution.

• Busan’s GRDP share in Korea has been around 5%, while that of the CCIs has been below 3%.

• A change towards bigger firms: The number of firms have declined over the years, while the employment has slightly increased.

• Higher presence of small-to-medium enterprises in CCIs in Busan.

City’s CCIs Vision and Strategies

From industrial port city to

• Ocean Capital City Master Plan (2001) & Dynamic Busan 2020 Road Map (2005):

• Four core strategies identified: film and information technology, tourism and convention, port logistics, and mechanical parts and materials.

• 2020 Cultural City Project (2007): to promote cultural industries as the new development drive in the knowledge-based economy and to develop cultural spaces and landmarks.

• Soft Power City (2011):

• A new development paradigm along 3C’s (Creativity, Coexistence, and Cross-Border)

• Busan 2030 vision and strategies: Smart Busan (2015):

• Overall vision to focus on people, technology, and culture.

• Busan Culture 2030 vision (2019): citizen-led, happy culture, global maritime cultural city.

Busan: “city of film”

• 1966: BIFF (Busan International Film Festival) locally initiated.

• 2000: Busan announced its vision to become the hub of film industry in Asia.

• 2004-2011: Ministry of Culture and Tourism designated Busan as the Cine Culture City.

• 2014: UNESCO Creative City of Film.

• 2021: Designated as a deputy coordinator of UNESCO Creative City of Film.

Enablers: Uniqueness

• Venue of the Busan International Film Festival (BIFF).

• Strategized to develop a niche identity for the relatively young BIFF.

• Three keywords: Asia, Young, and non-competition.

• Unique partnership between the local government and the film experts.

• The annual congregating point for leading and emerging filmmakers, actors/actresses, and critiques in the film industry.

• The BIFF put Busan on the map, linking Busan to cinema and culture.

• Unique urban landscape

CITY OF FILM

Wsngk2 CC by 2.5

Enablers: Social networks, support, & finance

Support for film culture and film industry

• Asian Project Market (APM), part of BIFF, since 1998.

• Asia’s first and the largest market for film investment and co-production.

• Situated the network of Asia’s filmmaking market in Busan.

• Networks and support for independent films

• Busan Independent Film Association (BIFA), since 1999.

• Independent Film Festival Busan, since 1999.

• INDEPENDENCIA—an independent film screening platform, since 2019.

• National government’s support: Cine Culture City , 2004-2011.

• Busan Cinema Center, opened in 2011: a landmark of the city of film.

• Busan Cultural Contents Complex, since 2012: to promote cultural contents industry (e.g., digital image content, animation, and games).

• Relocation of film-related public agencies (e.g., Korean Film Council, Korea Media Rating Board, and Game Rating and Administration Committee).

→ All located in the Centum Innovation District

CITY OF FILM

Busan Cinema Center

Enablers: Institutions & partnerships

Towards building domestic film cluster and international networks

• Busan Film Commission (BFC), founded in 1999.

• Provides extensive services for location shooting.

• Supported 580 movies, 215 short films, 214 web dramas, and 511 other visual productions.

• To create the film industry ecosystem in Busan, Centum Innovation District

• Busan Cinema Venture Center (2002): to cluster small local companies in editing, recording, production design, stage make-up, etc.

• Busan Post Lab (2009): to provide one-stop services for post-production.

• Busan Visual Industry Center (2013): to attract companies in pre-production, production, post-production, and distribution.

• Joined the UNESCO Creative City Network (UCCN) as the Creative City of Film, 2014.

• To enhance international networks

• Film Production Residency program, inviting foreign filmmakers from other Creative Cities of Film to co-produce short films with young filmmakers in Busan.

• Busan Inter-City Film Festival (2017): to showcase local films and to enhance networks among different cities and their filmmakers.

• Currently a deputy coordinator of the UNESCO Creative City of Film

CITY OF FILM

Enablers: Human capital

To become an education hub, both internationally and domestically

• Asian Film Academy (AFA), since 2005:

• 18-day workshop during the BIFF to nurture young filmmakers in Asia and to promote network.

• Busan Asian Film School (AFiS), founded in 2016:

• International Film Business Academy: to educate and cultivate professionals.

• Asian Filmmaking Workshop: to run AFA and the ASEAN-ROK Film Leaders Incubator.

• Busan Film Academy: to educate local citizens.

• Cinematique Busan, founded in 1999, offers various educational programs in film to both professionals and the general public.

• Korean Academy of Film Arts (KAFA), founded in 1984, relocated from Seoul to Busan in 2018.

• Currently seven universities offer degrees in filmmaking and related industries in Busan.

CITY OF FILM

Enablers: Urban spaces and infrastructure

To meet the needs of filmmakers and local residents

• Centum Innovation District, including Busan Cinema Studios.

• Cinema House Hotel: used to provide low-rate accommodations for filmmakers, before closing down in 2021 due to COVID-19.

• Local neighborhoods with history.

• Busan Museum of Movies.

• Public space providing access to film and related books (Cinematheque, BCC).

CITY OF FILM

Enablers: Technology

• Busan Movie Data Base (BMDB):

online platform that provides helpful information for making films in Busan, including a

database of local

actors/actresses, writers, and creators.

• BMDB CINEMA: online screening service for independent films

produced in Busan, web dramas, and web movies.

CITY OF FILM

Spatial Outcomes

Development of old and new towns:

• Hosting BIFF.

• Physical development to house film industries.

• Outdoor filming locations becoming tourist spots.

BIFF Square

Cezzie901, CC BY 2.0

Centum Innovation District / Centum City

Prime number, CC BY 4.0

Social Outcomes

Cultural community revitalization

• Bringing film to neighborhoods

• Sanbokdoro rooftop moonlight theater (Oksang Dalbit)

• BIFF in the neighborhood

• Selected 14 neighborhoods throughout Busan to screen featured films of BIFF in 2021.

• Outreaching screening service

• To reduce cultural gap, provides free film screening in low-income neighborhoods. (10-13 times a year).

• Revitalizing local film culture and community development

• Our Neighborhood Cinema

• Provides financial support for local communities’ activities related to film.

Economic Outcomes

Total sales in the film industry in Busan and its percentage (Busan/nation)

Total employment in the film industry in Busan and its percentage (Busan/nation)

Total number of firms in the film industry in Busan and its percentage (Busan/nation)

Difficulty in promoting film industry, but provides a potential for tourism Film + ^Tourism

• BIFF

• Busan Cine (2017).

• Busan filming location stamp tour (2016).

• Film tourism guidebook (2008).

• House of film project.

• Haeundae Cine Road.

Lessons Learned and Conclusion

• Creative city of film, Busan: Film industry + film education + film culture.

• The power of event (BIFF) to place the city on the map and create its new identity.

• Strategized planning to find a unique niche market to complement rather than compete with more established events.

• Scaling up efforts are critical in creative-city making.

• BIFF: a stepping stone to become a city of film and Asia’s hub of film industry.

• National government’s Cine Culture City, cementing Busan’s position as Korea’s city of film.

• Find and build up from local strengths: started with supporting location filming, before moving on to add post-production.

• Strategies focused on international, inter-city ties amid the firmly

established core of Seoul.