On the late afternoon of June 14th, at the 7th floor of Lotte World in Jamsil, Songpa-gu, Seoul, there was a special screening for the movie, “Fang Hua (芳華, One’s Youth),” in the “Silk Road Chinese Film Exclusive Screening Room,” a small theater with 100 seats. The small theater was fully packed, with some latecomers sitting on the aisle stairs to watch the movie for two hours. The audience poured out praise that day, saying, "It was a movie that exceeded expectations" and "It is a movie I want to see again if given the chance." The featured film of the day was “Fang Hua,” directed by the Chinese film maestro Feng Xiaogang. It was a film that topped the box office in China at the end of last year, portraying love, separation, and the struggles of young people during the Chinese Cultural Revolution in the 1970s with a modern perspective.
Ro Jae-hun, President of the Korea-China Culture Center(renamed as East Asia Culture Center), who hosted the preview, was in high spirits. President Ro, at the after-party venue, expressed his joy, saying, "Many people asked, ‘When will you screen it again? I want to see it one more time.’ It made me feel good."
President Ro, the son of former President Roh Tae-woo, has been at the forefront of cultural exchange between Korea and China through the foundation of the Korea-China Culture Center, established in February 2012. Since 2012, he has regularly conducted the "Korea-China Friendship Dialogue" with the People's Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries, a subsidiary of the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs. He has also organized cultural exchange concerts, Nanta performances, and more in Chengdu, Sichuan Province. In 2015, in partnership with China’s CCTV, he produced and aired the cultural experience variety show, "Ding Ge Long Dong Qiang (叮咯咙咚呛),” which featured stars from the entertainment industry in Korea and China and gained lots of attention. Recently, he has been supporting exchange activities among university students from both countries at Yonsei University's Sinchon campus and the local Korea-China Culture Center in Beijing.
Despite these efforts, cultural exchange between Korea and China is currently facing challenges. It has been evaluated that the lack of mutual understanding and other factors have hindered significant achievements. In particular, the THAAD issue that erupted in June last year rapidly cooled economic and cultural exchanges with China. President Ro’s hosting of the movie, “Fang Hua,” was one of his efforts to thaw the frozen cultural exchange between Korea and China.
On June 22nd, I met President Ro again at a coffee shop near Gwanghwamun, Seoul. He explained the reasons behind his efforts to promote cultural exchange and travel between China. "I anticipate that China's influence will continue to expand. Although I studied in the United States in my early years, the current trend seems to be shifting from the West to the East. In that case, we need to understand China. Due to the connection made by my father (former President Roh Tae-woo) when Korea and China established diplomatic relations in 1992, I developed affection for China more than other countries."
President Ro emphasized that a "cultural approach and exchange are prioritized" to understand China. "Twenty years have passed since the establishment of diplomatic relations between Korea and China, but, with economic exchanges as the exception, there is almost no cultural foundation for understanding each other. When we think of China, we often stereotype it with “Chinese food” or conclude that “China cannot make good movies.” Prejudice creates more prejudice, and nowadays there is an emerging perception of “We knew China would be like this!” or “We can live without China.” However, let's look at reality. “We have no choice but to continue developing relations with China."
President Ro chose movies as a means of cultural exchange between Korea and China because both countries have a basic infrastructure in the film industry, and movies are an easy medium to convey cultural codes to each other. However, the share of Chinese movies in Korea is still minimal. As of 2015, the audience share was only 0.1% (with an audience of 260,000). Director Roh has been making various attempts to change this for the past two years. Although he presented various films, including artistic films, educational films, and movies catering to the demands of the younger generation, it fell short of raising the domestic status of Chinese movies. Due to the emotional damage from the THAAD issue, there were difficulties in promoting movies. Recently, with the signs of improvement in bilateral relations, he made efforts to secure the screening rights for Feng Xiaogang's movie. The response was, “Very good!”
The fact that a Chinese movie theater is located at Lotte is paradoxical. Lotte provided the exclusive theater on a public interest basis, and Lotte is one of the representative companies that faced difficulties in China after the THAAD issue. "After the THAAD deployment, Lotte suffered damage, but they continued to maintain the screening room. I heard that they made this decision from the perspective of improving Korea-China relations and promoting the film industry. I feel sorry and grateful."
After the THAAD issue, Korean movies were also suspended in China. In 2017, only one Korean documentary film dealing with the comfort women issue was screened in China. President Ro is working on the cooperation of the China Film Archive in August or September to promote the Korean Film Festival. "In fact, China is quite envious of our film industry. They lament about why they cannot produce several movies with an audience of 10 million each year. This summer, it seems we can introduce our movies like 'Along with the Gods' and 'I Can Speak' to China. I hope it becomes a signal for the resumption of film exchanges."
Opening “The Belt and Road Research Institute”
President Ro also provides cultural consulting through the Korea-China Culture Center. It is a distinctive feature compared to other organizations and companies or institutions organized for Korean-Chinese exchanges. "We are in an era where culture is being industrialized. However, companies in the cultural industry cannot make money. This is why they are passive in terms of public interest. It’s the wrong model. Nowadays, as the cultural industry transitions from the West to the East, if we collaborate with China to develop new cultural fusion products, we can dream of dominating the global market beyond Asia. Instead of leveraging what is ours, we need to start respecting what the other party has that can create a cultural power between Korea and China. What historically and geographically connects."
President Ro’s main activity stage in China is Sichuan Province. He has offices of the Korea-China Culture Center in Beijing and Chengdu, the capital of Sichuan Province. I was curious about why President Ro chose Sichuan Province out of the 34 provincial-level administrative divisions in China. "For organizations, companies, or institutions in Korea that want to exchange with China, it is better to choose one province as a target for relationships. Sichuan Province has a population of over 80 million. It is unrealistic for a specific organization to cover all of China. If each association or institution establishes a close relationship with one province, organic exchanges are possible. I chose Sichuan Province because it is an area with rich cultural assets that even Chinese people admire."
President Ro mentioned plans to open an "The Belt and Road Research Institute" soon, with the registration process underway at the National Assembly. Through this institute, they aim to study China's “The Belt and Road” initiative and explore Korea’s role in it. He stated, "Recently, Chinese media reports have been mentioning the inclusion of North Korea in “The Belt and Road” initiative. Although it's a project initiated and pursued by China, considering the direct and indirect relevance of the entire Korean Peninsula, we decided to establish the institute in anticipation and preparation."
As the interview with President Ro concluded, I inquired about the well-being of former Korean President Roh Tae-woo, just a day before the passing of former Prime Minister Kim Jong-pil on June 23. He shared, "Currently, President Roh is at home, not in the hospital, dealing with age-related illnesses. His health is not great these days, and my mother is taking care of him. Although he struggles with mobility and cannot speak, his consciousness is clear." According to President Ro, former Korean President Roh completed the payment of fines imposed on him in September 2013, settling all charges related to illegal funds creation, with a verdict of 2.628 billion won by the Supreme Court in 1997.