Shim is still branded with the reputation of "Yonggary," which may be why most people don't rate him very highly. Even before its release, people have been criticizing his latest movie "D-War." Some people say derisively it'll be just another B-movie, "as usual." Shim has also suffered from public speculation about the veracity of his claimed academic background.

But entertainment gossip can't be the essence of a real story. As a business reporter who sees everything from a bread-and-butter perspective, I can't put up with the ongoing "debate" about Shim Hyung-rae because it all seems like just idle talk to me. Shim is knocking at the door to a new world of wealth creation that the Korean economy has never visited before. What does it matter if he's not a college graduate or his film has a B-grade screenplay?

From the viewpoint of wealth creation "D-War" is a big event because it's Korea's first entry in the global market of sci-fi blockbusters. "D-War" will be released throughout the U.S. next month, opening squarely in the center of the global entertainment market, not its peripheries like Southeast Asia or China.

It's important that the movie is science fiction. The sci-fi film market which is currently monopolized by Hollywood is a sea of wealth, where films worth trillions of won go head to head. I go green with envy whenever I hear that a movie like "The Lord of the Rings" or "Spider-Man" has made billions of dollars at the box office. Now Shim is challenging his foreign rivals on their home turf.

According to Hong Sa-jong, president of the Institute for Imaginable Futures, Shim Hyung-rae is working in a new model of wealth creation called the "story revolution."

"Following the information revolution, a story revolution has begun. Wealth will be placed in the hands of those who have the ability to turn stories, or imagination or cultural content into commodities. Shim is a 'warrior of stories' who has plunged into the center of this revolution."

In this "story war" that will determine the wealth of nations in the 21st century, so far Korea is nothing but a supplier of cheap resources. We applauded when we heard that the remake rights to the Korean movie "Il Mare" had been sold. But in reality it was simply a contract to export a cheap raw material. Hollywood bought the screenplay for US$500,000 and remade it into a new film called "The Lake House" which went on to earn $46 million.

Even Korea's biggest-ever box-office hit "The Host" was also sold as raw material. Its screenplay was recently purchased for $600,000 by Universal Pictures.

In contrast, "D-War" will be released simultaneously in 1,500 first-run cinemas throughout the U.S. Continuing with the manufacturing metaphor, it's as if a Korean business has exported its own branded product at its own price. Korean investors and producers made an end product from a story created in Korea, using American "components" like actors, music, and locations.

And why sci-fi? There is a significant reason why Shim has stuck to that genre. Of all the film genres, sci-fi stands out in terms of the amount of money spent and earned. Without exception, the blockbusters that have swept the globe, from "Star Wars" to "Transformers," are all sci-fi films.

Furthermore, sci-fis have limitless market potential. If a sci-fi film becomes a hit, it can expand its value chain endlessly to games, animations and character merchandise. In short, Shim wants to sit at the top of a global wealth pyramid, by creating original sci-fi content.

He has already won recognition for his team's technology. The special effects in "D-War" are said to be second to none, up to Hollywood standards. If this movie is admitted to the Hollywood-dominated sci-fi blockbuster club, the "Shim Hyung-rae model" will suggest new ways for the Korean economy to profit. His model could turn out to be a surprise blessing.

There is of course no guarantee that "D-War" will perform well at the box office. But even if it fails, I will still applaud Shim. He can keep on battling in the story wars as long as he can keep coming up with original ideas. Few Koreans have attempted to break into the wealthy world of sci-fi as he has done.

This column was contributed by Park Jung-hoon from the Chosun Ilbo’s Business News Desk.