Kim Ah Joong discusses being an actress in a male-centered film industry

Kim Ah Joong is currently active as the promotional spokesperson for the National Women's Film Festival. She opened up about the topic by beginning with, "I strongly feel that actresses and females in film are unable to overcome the barriers of a male-centered industry if we do not band together and put in the effort, such as launching a Women's Film Festival. We face a situation where females have to work incredibly hard to even at least be considered on the same level as males." 

She continued, "Many people working on the Women's Film Festival committee said, 'Because of Ah Joong-sshi, our film festival has a prettier image.' There was this unspoken prejudice that a Women's Film Festival would be full of simply head strong, active women. I was happy to hear that I was able to work against those prejudices a little. There are many women who are conscious of their surroundings, have a voice to speak up their minds, and are also attractive in their own sense." 

Kim Ah Joong further discussed on the matter of the male-centered film industry, "It's not a problem just in Korea alone. The reality is that there is rarely a place for an actress in productions, particularly films. Most films being produced these days have a multi-casting style, with male actors boasting big name values in the center. There is a movie called 'The Table' (starring 4 actresses as the main leads) that premiered recently, and it was a small-scale production but received good reviews. I would like for movies like these to be appropriately treated with the foresight that they will bring in at least 2,000,000 viewers in theaters, and I would also like for the public to be able to approach these films more easily and often. When that happens, I believe that it will open up more opportunities for not only actresses, but also actors to not waste their talents and showcase them more." 

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