[Edaily Starin YUN GI BACK Reporter] The criteria for defining the nationality of “Korean films” are changing. We are moving away from an era where the director’s and actors’ nationalities, as well as the language used, determined a film’s identity; instead, who leads the production and how capital and rights are distributed are becoming more important. As international co-productions increase, the boundaries of film are rapidly blurring.

According to the film industry on the 16th, Japanese director Koji Fukada’s *Thank Goodness* was included among the 16 Korean film production projects recently announced by the Korean Film Council (KOFIC) as part of this year’s supplementary budget. It is a Category A selection with a net production cost of 2 billion won or more but less than 3 billion won. Through this supplementary budget, KOFIC will provide a total of 25.77 billion won in support.
A KOFIC official expressed optimism, stating, “If these projects—which aim to offer fresh takes on diverse genres and themes—lead to actual production and release, allowing them to reach audiences, it will serve as an opportunity to breathe new life into the stagnant Korean film industry.”
At first glance, it may seem unusual for a film by a Japanese director to be included in the “Korean Film Production Support” program. However, the story changes when one examines the structure of international co-productions. “Thank Goodness” is a project being developed as a Korea-Japan co-production, and what matters most is not the director’s nationality but the extent to which the Korean production team and production company are deeply involved in and leading the production. Director Koji Fukada, who has garnered attention at international film festivals for works such as the Cannes Film Festival award-winning *Harmonium* and *Nagi’s Notebook*, will helm the project.
This aligns with the Korean film industry’s recent approach to international co-productions. Through its mid-budget Korean film production support program, the Korean Film Council (KOFIC) aims to improve the stagnant investment and production environment while promoting international co-productions as a key policy goal. This year, KOFIC established a new quota for international co-productions in its main budget program and included a Korean-Australian co-production among the supported projects.

Programs specifically supporting international co-productions are also expanding. The Korean Film Council operated pilot projects for international co-productions in both the first and second halves of this year and separately conducted a planning and development support program for Korea-India co-productions. In essence, the focus is shifting from simply exporting completed Korean films overseas to attracting foreign capital, talent, and markets from the planning and production stages onward.
Behind this trend lies the contraction of the domestic film investment market. In the past, it was common for Korean films to recoup production costs primarily through domestic investment and box office success in Korea. However, as declining theater attendance and rising production costs have made it difficult to secure large-scale funding domestically alone, the need for co-productions—which leverage overseas capital, production support, tax incentives, and local distribution networks—is growing.
An official from a film investment and distribution company stated, “In a situation where it has become difficult to carry out medium- to large-scale projects with domestic capital alone, co-production is not merely a way to split production costs but a means to leverage overseas support systems and local distribution networks as well,” adding, “We expect to see more cases of seeking overseas partners right from the planning stage in the future.”
The recent efforts by the government and the film industry to expand co-production cooperation with countries such as France and Italy are part of this same trend. Once a co-production agreement is signed, films that meet certain requirements are granted the same status as domestic films in both countries, broadening their access to production support, tax incentives, and local distribution networks. This effectively allows a single film to leverage the industrial infrastructure of multiple countries simultaneously.
In this process, the criteria for defining a “Korean film” are also changing. Rather than the nationality of the director or actors, what matters most is which country’s production company leads the project and how capital and rights are divided. *Thank Goodness* is a prime example of this shift in the production landscape.
A film industry insider stated, “In the past, there was a strong perception that if a Korean director made a film, it was a Korean film, but now the production structure itself has become much more complex.” They added, “What matters isn’t whether a foreign director is involved, but how much control a Korean production company has in driving the project forward. Since it has become difficult to produce films with domestic investment alone, how we utilize overseas capital, talent, and markets will become even more important going forward.”