Chinese movies accounted for a tiny percentage of South Korea's box office last year, but China's film industry is hoping to change that.

The 2013 Chinese Film Festival in Seoul held from June 16 to 20 opened with the first South Korean screening of martial-arts film The Grandmaster.

Wong Kar-wai, the movie's director, stepped out onto the red carpet for the event along with stars Tony Leung and Zhang Ziyi.

The director is a favorite among South Korean moviegoers, and the Chinese stars added some glamour to this year's opening ceremony. The film festival is playing a major role in bolstering cultural exchanges between South Korea and China. The biennial festival first opened in 2006, and this year's theme is "Meeting the Best Faces in Chinese Film".

A festival organizer said, "We are featuring some of the most popular films in China right now. We can see new trends developing in Chinese film. This year will be the biggest festival yet, and we've got some really big names coming."

The five-day event also introduced 11 recent Chinese works, including mainstream hit Back to 1942, which is set during the War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression.

Other films featured include internationally acclaimed drama A Simple Life, which won Deanie Ip the Best Actress Award at the 68th Venice Film Festival. Films with an urban narrative, like Lost in Thailand, Love is Not Blind and Caught in the Web, mark a turning point in the Chinese film industry, which had been dominated by kung fu films in the past.

A festival organizer said, "I think one of the most important reasons for the rapid development of the Chinese film industry is the support from the Chinese people and the government, who have invested a lot of money in the industry, which make us very jealous! I believe Chinese films will go on to impress and influence the world."

(The Wall Street Journal - Global Times)