My name is Daniel. I was an English teacher in Seoul, South Korea, and am now a writer who has

published three books including South Korea: Our Story by Daniel Nardini.

                              The film making industry in both the United States and South Korea have

a number of things in common; and one of those things is to get their films, TV shows and music

videos into the Chinese market. Of course, they make films, TV shows and music videos for their

own domestic markets. But then comes the China market. This is not too hard to figure out; China

represents the single largest movie going market in the world, and the Chinese government allows

a certain number of foreign films, foreign TV shows and foreign music videos into the country every

year. Because of this restriction, there is certainly competition among those South Korean and 

Hollywood films that get into the Chinese market. Having worked for many years in journalism, I

learned that Americans actor and film producers do large tours to promote their latest films. And

China is among the stopping points for so many American actors and film producers. What this

also comes down to is no films, TV shows or music videos critical of China. Actually, more 

critical of the Chinese Communist Party, Chinese history, and Chinese cultural values. South Korean

and Chinese co-production projects have to go on the premise that there will be no negative

content in what is filmed, or the Chinese government can unilaterally cancel all agreements.

More than that, the Chinese government has the power to force South Korean producers to

bend to their will as was the case when the South Korean producers for the South Korean band

"Twice" forced their Taiwanese member Chou Tzu-yu to apologize for waving a South Korean

and a Taiwanese flag in one video. The same thing has happened here in the United States;

actors like Richard Gere and Brad Pitt are banned from ever appearing in China, and many

Hollywood producers are now  reluctant to hire Gere for major parts even though he is a great

actor. Truth is that China does not really censor South Korean and American films more than

South Korean and American producers censor themselves to get into the Chinese market. This

seems to be the sad reality for now.