JOIN USThe Ambassador of the Republic of Korea to India, Cho Hyun, on Friday said that one of the unique areas where his country and India can cooperate, is in the realm of movies.
While India has its homegrown cinema culture, dominated by Bollywood, along with a host of regional film industries, South Korea has built its own reputation as a film producing nation, with film genres ranging from horror to new wave. Talking to Deccan Herald, Cho said, “We can cooperate in the area of making movies. We may be the only two countries in the world, which may not have been ‘devastated’ by Hollywood films. At least 50 per cent of all the film released in our respective countries are domestically produced.”
While looking at cinema cooperation, it could be in areas of remaking each other’s films in respective languages, and shooting in each other’s locales (film tourism), among others.
Economic powerhouse South Korea is the birthplace of global leaders Samsung, LG and Hyundai, all of which have a large India presence. Total investments of South Korean companies in India is to the tune of around $50 billion, mainly the said large players, and their ancillaries.
Stating that it is important to invest in a country for trade to follow, Cho said that it is time now for small and medium enterprises (SMEs) to come and be a part of India’s success story. Considering that his country would partner Invest Karnataka 2016, small South Korean companies may be seen coming to the State for business.
“There are many companies that may be interested. Most of the said companies are part of the IT field,” Cho said.
Meanwhile, bilateral trade between the two countries has reached around $17 billion a year, and the traded commodities include components, automobile parts, IT products, etc.
DH News Service
“Unfortunately, we’ve reached a plateau, over the last two years. It’s important for both governments to recognise each other as strategic partners. Even Korean businessmen must pay attention to India. Korean companies must not only look at India as a manufacturing hub, but also an investment destination. A symbiotic relationship must be formed here,” Cho reflected.
e.o.m.