By Michael Anderson
Culture Writer

SEOUL—On every wall in the offices of Korean film distributor Mirovision are several movie posters, some signed by the films’ directors. The office lobby displays several posters for the latest film Mirovision has distributed domestically: Lars von Trier’s “Dancer in the Dark,’’ which won Golden Palm and Best Actress awards at the last Cannes Film Festival.

There’s also a large rack in one room, such as you’d find at a newsstand, that is packed with movie-related magazines. The enthusiasm for film is very much in evidence at Mirovision...

It is especially evident in the words of company CEO (and film producer) Jason Chae, who speaks like a man on a mission about Korean cinema. In fact, Chae has made it his goal to bring not only worldwide attention to Korean film, but also to expose Koreans to challenging international movies.

Chae has long been an aficionado of movies, and has been a regular contributor to the Korean film magazine “Cinema 21.’’ While writing for the magazine and covering national film festivals, Chae developed what he called “some kind of anger’’ when he saw that “there was nobody who could take care of the Korean films’’ and bring them to international attention.

To remedy this, Chae began Mirovision in 1998, partly from his affection for the films he saw, and partly because it was “a good niche’’ to develop as a business.

However, with no clear market for Korean movies overseas, Chae said starting the business was ``extremely risky,’’ and many people “didn’t expect us to survive this long.’’

But Mirovision has not only survived, it has become a profitable business, with total international film sales exceeding $3 million in 2000. The company has racked up several firsts as well. It was the first Asian company to open a booth at the prestigious Clemont-Ferrand International Short Film Market in France. Mirovision then saw one of the films it entered in the 52nd Cannes Film Festival, “The Picnic,’’ by Song Il-gon, win the Grand Jury prize—the first Korean film to receive an award at Cannes (it also won an award at the Melbourne International Film Festival).

Mirovision’s presence at Cannes as the first nongovernmental Korean film distributor was seen by some as “brave.’’ Indeed, it was “more successful than expected,’’ Chae said, as the company has been able to expand its offerings there from short films on up to feature-length movies.

When asked about the necessity of the Korean movie quota system after the success of such films as “J.S.A.’’ and “Chunhyang,’’ Chae said that “for us to work on this national level, it’s quite important.’’ Still, he acknowledged, the quota system helps mainstream movies more than independent filmmakers. But if the film industry in general is “more healthy,’’ Chae said, it “opens chances for minority filmmakers.’’ Chae noted that not only the independents, but also studio movies have become “more personal’’ in recent years. He attributes this to the ``maturity’’ of the industry. The success of Korean movies overseas will most likely come from this personal filmmaking, from “a leader who expresses himself,’’ putting forth “his own observations of daily life.’’ Chae sees this as a “positive feature of the Korean filmmakers.’’

Without this emphasis on the personal, the current attention being paid to Korean film might wind up as a ``one shot,’’ Chae said.

Asked about the challenge of doing business in Hollywood, Chae said that, while breaking a film in Tinseltown is a fine objective, Koreans tend to have too much expectation that domestic movies can be Oscar winners.

While he doesn’t deny that a “Swiri’’ or “J.S.A.’’ might be a contender, “I don’t like to be obsessed with unrealistic fantasies,’’ he said. As he put it, “If we could really come over, it would be in the rare cases like `Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon’,’’ referring to director Ang Lee’s crossover hit. He prefers instead to work on building up the “infrastructure’’ of film production and distribution.

Chae has lately set his company’s sights on the brave new world of multimedia. He plans to take Mirovision into the realm of satellite television, creating a channel that specializes in independent and Asian film, set to launch in 2002 and tentatively called Miro Channel.

As befits a forward-thinking company, Mirovision is also looking to broaden into Internet broadcasting with an offshoot called Migital.com (the company’s own Web site is www.mirovision.com).

And for those of us who like a good old-fashioned night out at the movies, Mirovision is in the construction planning stages for a multiplex movie theater, Mirospace, to be located in Kwanghwamun, downtown Seoul. Hopefully plans include big tubs of hot buttered popcorn.