The festival circuit, explained
Busan, Cannes, Berlin: theatrical admissions have softened, and the photocall has only grown in importance. It is where a director's standing gets recognized in public.
Theatrical admissions have softened, but the festival photocall has, if anything, grown in importance: it's the moment a film's images enter the global conversation, and where a director's standing is publicly recognized.
For Korean cinema specifically, the circuit is a prestige engine that feeds back into everything else: the auteur whose film premieres at Busan is the same name a drama production wants attached, and the same face a fashion house wants in the front row.