Why 'The King and the Clown' director took on short-form dramas, often dismissed as cheap entertainment

When “My Father’s Table” opened at Lotte Cinema theaters nationwide Sept. 9, it filled only about a third of the screen, right down the middle. Originally intended as a short-form drama for smartphones, the production was shot vertically from the outset. Its 61 episodes, each roughly two minutes long, were then assembled into a 146-minute feature. It marks the first theatrical release of a short-form drama in Korea, with no known precedent overseas. Even more surprising is the name behind it: Lee Joon-ik, the director whose “The King and the Clown” drew more than 10 million moviegoers in 2005. How he came to make a film that occupies just a third of the screen is a story in itself. For next generation of filmmakers “To be honest, choosing to direct a short-form drama made me uncomfortable and a little afraid,” Lee said in an interview at Kidari Studio’s offices in Seoul’s Seongdong District on the film’s opening day. Short-form dramas have taken off in North America and China over the past two or three years. In Korea, however, the format is still widely dismissed as l