South Korean Director Creates a Film with The iPhone 4

One of South Korea's well known film directors, Park Chan-wook, has created a 30 minute fantasy film entitled "Paranmanjang," (Ups and Downs) using the iPhone 4.  It is receiving quite a bit of publicity, including a recent article in the Los Angeles Times.  Park first achieved fame in 2000 with his film "Joint Security Area."  The idea arose last fall just as he and his brother (and fellow director) Park Chan-kyong were set to begin filming a fantasy about a middle-aged fisherman who one day hauls a woman out of the water's depths. That's when South Korea's exclusive iPhone distributor offered to finance the $130,000 project if the pair agreed to use the device to make a theater-quality film.
This is an interesting story indeed.  On the one hand, it illustrates a certain Korean willingness to use and experiment with new communication technologies.  On the other hand it shows that, at least in certain niches, Korea may have its own strengths in the creation of media content.  The nation is frequently criticized for being relatively weak in content creation, while strong in manufacturing and hardware.