MANILA -- TV host and erstwhile news anchor Grace Lee never imagined herself getting into business. From the time she was a small girl, she tried all sorts of activities she watched on TV. Getting into business was perhaps the last on her mind.

Lee’s mom noticed her daughter wanted to do so many things right away. Lee did ice skating, figure skating, ballet, piano, and painting lessons.

“Whatever I watched on TV, I told my mom I wanted to do it,” Lee told ABS-CBN News. “So I have a tendency to try something at least once. I will try it. If it didn’t suit me, at least I know I’m not talented in piano.

“And I know, I cannot be a ballerina. I don’t have the physical specs of being a ballerina. I did ballet for five years. I tried it, but it didn’t work. But I believe it’s in that process that you also start finding your passion.

“That’s also how you figure out what you’re good at How can you know what you’re good at if you don’t know what you’re bad at?”

It was by accident that Lee put up Glimmer Productions, a company that releases Korean films and also mounts original productions.

“I didn’t intentionally do it,” Lee said of her business venture. “People in Korea were looking for someone who knows the industry and someone they can trust. That was how it began.”

Glimmer, which started in 2019, a year before the pandemic, originally planned to unveil its projects third quarter of 2020. But then, everything was pushed back because of the pandemic.

“All of my businesses were affected but they are all coming back slowly. I’m glad that we were able to survive the pandemic," she said.

“I’m really very new in the business which is the reason when the pandemic hit, all my businesses were 100 percent affected. We were new in the game so those were all the businesses affected by the pandemic.”

Lee always challenges herself with every business she ventures into. She started with F&B (food and beverage) and opened Korean restaurants around town. Then, she went into production.

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Up to this point, however, she has yet to convince herself whether or not she’s a good businesswoman.

“I always challenge myself,” Lee admitted. “I’m good at making things happen. But how long can I sustain it, that’s a question. It’s easy to start a business, but how many companies can last more than ten, 20, 30, 40 years down the road?

“So I think it’s too early. I’ve only been in business for five years. Three years out of that, I lost to the pandemic.”

Glimmer has been doing collaborations early on. “Our first this year was a three-man shoot of a Korean team here, with about 200 local staff and that included about 30 local artists,” Lee beamed.

“Of course, I fought for the PF [professional fee] of the locals. They always think Philippines is so cheap, but I always tell them, ‘It’s not cheap here. But it’s beautiful.’ And it’s easier to work in the conditions here.”

TURNING 40

For someone who has been in the Philippines since she was 10, Lee has undoubtedly embraced Filipino culture. Six months of being in Manila, she readily learned how to converse in Tagalog.

Even when she was in college – she took up Political Science at the Ateneo de Manila University and graduated in 2006 – Lee was being eyed to become a cultural ambassador.

“A lot of people were telling me, ‘Grace you have to be the cultural ambassador between Korea and the Philippines. You are more Filipino than Korean. You still have a lot of links to Korea. You speak the language.’

“A lot of people were encouraging me. When I was still in college, it was still blurry to me how could I do it. I guess in a certain way, I am becoming a cultural ambassador through Glimmer.”

Lee is turning 40 this October. “Between that and looking back at my 23-year-old self, when I was still dreaming to become an ambassador between the Philippines and Korea, I have achieved it in some way, despite the pandemic and all, because I really believe in the Filipino talent.”

Lee’s good reputation precedes her and she hopes to retain it that way. No wonder, her Korean partners trust her.

MOVIE RELEASES

Glimmer is set to release the latest Korean films that will be shown in the Philippines. “The Round-Up” is still showing in cinemas in Korea on its third week, but it will be shown here in Manila already.

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“Hunt” was supposed to be shown one week after it was released in Korea, but it simply had local problems with permits that’s why it was delayed.

“Hunt” is slated to be shown August 31 and topbills Lee Jung-jae, who starred in “Squid Games” (2021). To date, “Hunt” has been invited to some of the biggest international festivals.

“We are able to enjoy Korean entertainment,” said Lee. “Movies like ‘Hunt,’ that is action-packed. It’s being recognized by international festivals all around the world – Toronto, Cannes Film Festival. These are the films that I’m proud of.

“Eventually, I also want to bring horror. But I want to bring good, quality Korean films that Filipinos can watch.”

Apparently, Korea trusts Glimmer so much. “We have that rapport with Korea already. I am able to release Korean films here almost in real time. Before, tapos na palabas sa Korean cinemas, may pirated copies na online, doon pa lang siya lalabas sa sinehan dito.”

Late this year, Glimmer will also release a Korean film and actors will visit Manila to promote it.

“I believe there is so much room for Filipino content to grow in terms of technique and quality,” Lee maintained. “We have such great writers and a lot of great content. We have to really invest in being able to grow artists who write. The baseline are great writers.”

NO LONGER HOLLYWOOD-DOMINATED

Surprisingly, Lee was not even familiar with popular Korean artists before nor was she a fan of Korean dramas. “My Korean friends were more fanatics than me,” she revealed.

“Because of Glimmer, I had to learn. I had to watch shows because I had to monitor what or who is doing well here in the Philippines. So I know who is marketable here. I’m trying to familiarize myself more with the talents.”

• Look who’s back: Former host Grace Lee now a film distributor

For decades, Hollywood productions have dominated entertainment fare worldwide. “There are some Hollywood series that are dark, with drugs and sex,” Lee informed. “With Korean, the shows are light.

“When you watch Korean series like ‘Start-Up,’ it’s so inspirational and light. The actors and actresses are so handsome and so pretty. I think there’s a shift now in the standard for beauty.

“Our concept of beauty, for the longest time that Hollywood has dominated entertainment, has been blonde, blue eyes and white. Now, you see the shift around the world. Look at the models now of Dior, Chanel, Louis Vuitton. They are all Asians.

“There’s a shift now with models becoming more Asian. At the forefront of that was Japanese entertainment in the ‘80s. Eventually, from early 2000s until now, Korea kind of took over.”

REMAKE FILM

Early next year, Glimmer will have its first remake film that will have Filipinos in its crew and staff. Only the director, producer, art director, light director will be Koreans. Everyone under them, including the cast, will be Filipinos.

“My reason for doing this, I want them to all learn. Eventually, I wat my assistant lighting director to be as good as my light director from Korea. Post production will be done in Korea.

“For this film, I am sending a local partner who are post-production Filipino guys, to go to Korea and learn how they are doing these things. It’s a Filipino film taught by Koreans.

For Glimmer, it’s not really about the project. Long-term goal is to make a better relationship, improve the image of the Philippines and for Philippines to learn from Korea.

“It’s always good to be challenged. One of our biggest problems in the Philippines, we are so comfortable where we’re at. We’re so comfortable with these type of show, with these type of shooting skills. If we don’t get competition, we will never improve.

“We have to invest. There’s no other way. We have to start somewhere. Our post production is easily times four of what I would spend here. But I’m really excited about this film, actually a remake of an Argentinian film that Korea also did.

“The Argentinian film was not so famous. The Korean remake was so much better and became a successful release. When I put up Glimmer, we bought eight remake licenses which are all my favorites.

“The reason I picked all these things was because I know the sensibilities of the Filipino people. Alam ko papatok at magugustuhan ng mga Pilipino. We are not getting average production crew. We are getting the best. They are expensive, but we need to invest in our own people.

“The negotiations have been done for casting except for one. I hope all these things come into play. We had a rough start. But hopefully, everything gets better from here onwards.”

FIRST PROJECT

Before the pandemic, Glimmer shot its first project, the drama series, “The Forest” (2020), with Park Hae-jin and Jo Bo-ah.

“We shot most of it in Metro Manila and they saw that our country is very safe,” Lee said. “It’s not as dangerous as they think it is. We want to showcase the good side of the Philippines. I want to change the perception that it is dangerous in the Philippines.

“We showed them the leisure locations here that are really nice. All the projects that Glimmer gets showcase the good side of the Philippines.”

Lee believes in the “content power” of Korea and there are a lot of things that the Philippines need to learn. “There are a lot of things that we could benefit from Korea in terms of how widespread Korean content is now.

“Philippines is an English-speaking country that is closest to Korea. There’s no other English-speaking country that you can arrive in less than three and a half hours from Korea. We’re the only one. That’s such a powerful tool.

“We have such a beautiful country. There are so many locations we could shoot that look like Hawaii, as Koreans first saw it. Some Koreans even think Cebu is Indonesia. There’s so much misrepresentation of the Philippines.

“There needs to be more education of the Korean market and the international market about the beauty and decency of the Philippines and Filipinos in general.”

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