Global companies doing business in South Korea are stepping up engagement in the local film industry as part of their social responsibility activities.

JTI Korea, the Japanese tobacco company’s local unit, is no stranger to the film scene.

The firm has been offering support for film festivals here since 2011, and this year it has set up a smoking lounge with portable ashtrays at the Busan International Film Festival. During the festival period, it is also conducting campaigns to promote proper smoking manners to help visitors enjoy the festival in a cleaner environment, the firm said.

JTI Korea was an advocate for the Seoul Senior Film Festival, a local cultural program that aims to help the elderly communicate with society. It received an appreciative plaque from Seoul Metropolitan Government last October for helping promote cultural events for seniors. 

“We understand the positive effects that arts and culture have on society. The company plans to continue to support Korea’s movie industry and to provide cultural enrichment for underprivileged people,” said Anastasios Sitsas, a JTI Korea general manager.

Others, such as global logistics firms UPS Korea and DHL Korea, are also official sponsors of major local film festivals.

UPS Korea, the U.S. logistics company’s Korean unit, has sponsored the Green Film Festival in Seoul, which aims to support environmental movies, for the past two years. DHL Korea has sponsored the Jeonju International Film Festival for up to a decade, shipping more than 200 films from 42 countries.

Audi Korea, for its part, has supported the Blue Dragon Film Awards, an annual movie awards ceremony in Korea, for the past six years. Last November, the company provided Audi cars for the actors and producers who attended the ceremony.

“We will continue to support local film festivals in a bid to contribute to the development of Korea’s movie industry,” an Audi Korea official said.

Korea’s film market reached 1.8 trillion won ($1.3 billion) last year ― a sharp increase from 1.2 trillion won in 2008 ― according to the Korean Film Council. The number of moviegoers has more than doubled to 127 million during the same period.

By Shin Ji-hye (shinjh@heraldcorp.com)