기업 임금제도에 기초한 영화인 임금 연구

The research of staff pay in the film industry based on the ordinary pay system of the general company

In the unlimitedly competitive world, one of the most positive way to encourage the workers to be motivated is pay. When generally seeking a job, pay is undoubtedly considered the first choice. Though living not to eat, making one’s living is the basic activity as well as the responsibility. Recently, Korean film industry has been developed much faster than ever before and shown its superiority all over the world by winning the important awards of world famous film festivals. As a result, it start to be regarded as so-called emerging moneymaking business. However, staff in Korean film industry would still consider it as a unprofitable and hungry job rather than as moneymaking and rewarding business. They have been facing the laborious and cruel reality of not being paid enough to make one’s living for the past decades. The research conveyed in August, last year by The Union of assistants staff and Korean filmmakers conference was found out that on average the annual staff pay was 6,400,000 won and 38.8% of them worked over 16 hours and others usually worked over 13.9 hours. Regardless of considering ordinary workers’average pay, which is 12,360,000 won including 4 basic insurance and retirement allowance, based on 3,600 million won of Korean average film-making expense and over 300 million won of the main character’s guarantee money, most of staff can’t make both ends meet in these miserable reality. In Korea, there are 200 to 300 movies which are prepared and only about 70 movies are finally completed annually. The one of real problem is that the pay of staff can be fully paid after all production process is finished and if not, over half of it is not paid. In this situation, most of staff unwillingly give up their dreams and their job and then it has an bad influence on staff expertism and film completion. Ironically, apprentices without enough educational background have been increasing because of old conventional apprentice system taught by first assistant staff. Easy come, easy go. That’s why the unstable employment conditions and time and expense waste have been ceaselessly repeated. In addition, a number of unfair agreement systems and irrational employment conditions are another reality staff has faced until now. However, there is a remarkable change breaking these practices. The group of field staff, called Pigeon nest, is taking the lead in improving these unfair situations including delayed payment, unfair agreement systems and irrational employment conditions. Also Film-makers themselves try not to accept them any more, they start to find better solutions and make alternative ideas. Thus a variety of mass media headed by Cine 21 have helped to rouse public opinions. Nevertheless, it is not easy to correct continuous practices in Korean film industry. That is also true what is wrong has to be corrected. The staff who have played one of the most important roles in developing Korean film industry have the obligation both to make themselves be fully paid as much as they work hard and make their dreams come true. We must lose no time to establish stable employment conditions and clear employment agreement to support the basic staff right.