Shiri: how 1999 South Korean action blockbuster changed Asian cinema forever

South Korean pop culture is so ubiquitous today, it’s fascinating to consider that back in the 1990s, local pop culture was not particularly well regarded at home, and no one outside the country knew much about it.

In terms of films, the big change came with the release of Jacky Kang Ge-yu’s melodramatic action romp Shiri in 1999. The film, which is known as the first Korean blockbuster, broke box-office records at home and piqued interest in the potential of commercial Korean films in Asia and the US. Although it did not start hallyu [Korean Wave] on its own, it was instrumental in its success.

Shiri’s phenomenal success gave Korean filmmakers a huge burst of confidence in their work, and this enabled them to successfully challenge the dominance of Hollywood films in Korea. It spurred investment in the film industry, and encouraged production companies, aided by the government-supported Korean Film Council (KOFIC), to market their films to foreign distributors.

Most important of all, it made Koreans excited about going to the cinema to see local films, and this paved the way for big hits like Joint Security Area, Friend, The Host, and the spectacular rise of Korean cinema at home and abroad.

Shiri is certainly not the best commercial film to come out of South Korea – even at the time it was praised more for its neat structure and clever audience pleasing characteristics than for its artistic qualities. But good planning meant that it achieved the holy grail of commercial filmmaking – it was a local film which dealt with Korean issues, but it could also be easily understood and digested by foreign viewers.