The Birth of East Asia Cultural Regionalization Through Co-Production Strategies

Dal Yong Jin & Dong-Hoo Lee The Birth of East Asia Cultural Regionalization through Co-Production Strategies Introduction East Asian cultural producers have rapidly which we have that others have not.”4 As in many increased co-productions over the past several countries, television particularly remains primarily years. The Japanese, Chinese, Taiwanese, and a national phenomenon in East Asia, and the Korean cultural industries have produced cross- domestic state plays a significant role in shaping cultural outputs, including films, television national television systems.5 dramas, and music. Local cultural industries Producers in the region, however, have and producers in East Asia have begun pooling increasingly turned to international co- financial and cultural resources, which is a useful productions since the late 1990s, because the Pan- means to compete with cultural products from Asian co-production mode takes advantage of the other regions, particularly those from Hollywood, joint consumption cost structure. It entails jointly and have produced a few cross-cultural hits since developing and producing film and television the late 1990s.1 programs with attributes which make them Unlike in many other parts of the world, co- accessible to audiences in more than one national production strategies in East Asia are relatively market.6 Filmmakers and television networks, new phenomena. Until a few years ago, East Asia including independent producers, are now rapidly was viewed as a jumble of provincial cultural reaching beyond their local and national audiences markets. Cultural works in Japan, China, Korea, to attract regional and global viewers. Hong Kong, and Taiwan were made largely for This article examines the recent trends of domestic markets. Barring a few exceptions, local co-productions in East Asia to map out cultural filmmakers and broadcasters never collaborated regionalization in the region. Considering that co- out of their countries.2 Local and/or national production strategies are relatively new phenomena cultural industries took the stance that they in East Asia, first, this paper attempts to provide a should protect and maintain national culture, general documentation of co-productions in the or “the body of values, practices, and identities, broadcasting and film sectors. It discusses why because they believe national culture deemed to the region has adopted a co-production system make particular nations different from others.”3 by exploring an economic angle to explain the For East Asian producers, “the meaning of culture interdependence of television program and film (and thereafter cultural products) is something flows, especially since the late 1990s. The paper 26 Follow the Money: financing practices in contemporary international cinema Ioana Uricaru, editor, Spectator 32:2 (Fall 2012): 26-40. JIN & LEE also brings into focus the relationship between programs for Latin America, the producers in culture and economic factors while investigating Hong Kong, Japan, and Korea have made programs the driving force behind co-productions in East for the East Asian cultural market.10 Asia. Finally, it examines whether co-production However, it was rare to find direct cultural among East Asian countries, which has been cooperation in East Asia until the early years of considered one of the most significant factors for the twenty-first century, with a few exceptions, cultural regionalization, has played a key role in such as co-productions between the Hong Kong the growth of regional integration in the content and Korean film industries in the 1970s, as well as of co-produced cultural products. between Hong Kong and Japan. A few countries To investigate these questions, the paper has have expanded their cultural penetration based offered political economy approaches in parallel on technological development and advanced with a textural analysis of the content of co- programs; however, they have not developed co- produced films and television dramas. This paper, production strategies, which are critical for cultural first of all, articulates the relationship among regionalization. Although cultural flows in the cultural products, industry, and cultural politics same region initiate cultural integration, they do in production. At the textual level, this study not guarantee cultural cooperation among local aims at exploring the uniqueness of co-produced producers. Cultural regionalization, as a form dramas and films in genre, theme, and style. From of practical collaboration between two-three the perspective gained from the angle of political countries in the same region, rarely existed in economy as well as textual analyses, it intends to East Asia. Cultural regionalization could be “the generate new insights into the emerging discourse (empirical) process which can be defined as a of cultural regionalization in East Asia and its process of change from relative heterogeneity and implications for globalization. lack of cooperation towards increased cooperation, integration, convergence, coherence and identity 11 The Rise of Cultural Regionalization in culture within a given geographical space,” which is a broader concept of collaboration than Over the last decade, cultural product flows in cultural product flows. the same region have been made possible by Cultural regionalization can also be understood information flows through television programs as a comprehensive and multidimensional process, and films from the same region, including in Latin which implies increasing regional cooperation and America, Europe, and Asia.7 Several countries integration with respect to a number of dimensions, in Latin America, including Mexico and Brazil, not only political and economic, but also cultural have reduced the import of television programs dimensions. Such effective trans-border structures from industrialized countries such as America and have to be embedded in the local institutions and Europe to secure their own programs. Furthermore, correspond to a certain commitment of the people they have expanded their exports of indigenous on both sides. In other words, cultural integration television programs with their unique character to in the same region should be the extension of neighbouring countries in the same region. collaboration and cooperation in terms of co- East Asia has experienced a very similar productions between broadcasters and film makers, situation in recent years. Several countries, first as well as music studios, in different countries. Hong Kong, followed by Japan and Korea, have Over the last few years, several East Asian increased their cultural penetration of the same countries have shown a trend towards the region.8 Asian broadcasters are expanding their cultural regionalization of media content to suit operations within the region; therefore popular the cultural priorities of their audiences.12 Local culture in East Asia, more attuned to local producers in Korea, Japan, China, and Hong Kong tastes, routinely crosses national boundaries, have found their partners in other countries for the although global media firms are still increasing production of cultural goods and the distribution their operations in Asia.9 As television program of co-produced products. Beyond producing producers in Mexico and Brazil have created and exporting their products to neighbouring FOLLOW THE MONEY 27 THE BIRTH OF EAST ASIA countries, they have begun to co-produce films, for example, between KBS (Korea) and NHK movies, and music, which is the foundation of ( Japan). However, it is a very recent trend that cultural regionalization. East Asian producers broadcasters of Asian countries produce dramas have collaborated to form alliances that endorse together, and this co-production is on the rise since the emergence of a regional market for culture, the successes of the first several dramas as evident facilitate trans-national bypasses to connect in audience ratings and increased revenues from individuals and communities, and provide cultural advertising. content to the imagery of a region.13 There are several different dimensions of More importantly, unlike political co-productions between broadcasters and film regionalization, defined as a state-led project producers in East Asia. Local producers make designed to reorganize a particular regional space,14 television programs in other countries by using local producers and people in East Asia have been talent and actors in two or three countries, while major actors in cultural regionalization. As Schiller the local broadcasters almost simultaneously and points out;15 jointly share production costs to reduce risks. New investment from other countries has also transnationalized investment, product been a new source of product sourcing, because sourcing, and distribution patterns are these joint-products appear to be a real profit being actively and extensively forged; potential for the broadcasters. Several producers and that culture industry programs are have collaborated in marketing in recent years, assembling most-desired audiences in as well. Beyond sharing talent and capital, many new and increasingly comprehensive network broadcasters have systematically adopted ways. co-production strategies. In addition, there has been a joint-venture co-production, which is Indeed, it is crucial to understand the characteristics an integration of media industries and capital, of cultural regionalization in East Asia as a form although it is still in its infancy in East Asia. of state-society

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