FIRST OFF . . .

South Korean and American movie makers are at odds about new U.S. efforts to break into the Asian country’s film distribution business. Hundreds of Korean movie stars, directors and others demonstrated Saturday outside two Seoul theaters planning to show “Fatal Attraction,” the first U.S. film to be distributed directly by American firms in South Korea. The demonstrations were part of a general boycott of the film, which is being used as a symbol to protest independent, non-Korean distribution of U.S.-made films--a move Koreans see as dangerous to their own national film industry. On Friday, at least 32 cinema houses in Seoul took part in a one-day strike against “Fatal Attraction,” which was scheduled to be shown in 12 cities in South Korea. About 500 Korean film workers rallied at the theaters. There were no clashes or arrests, but the protests halted operations at the two Seoul theaters. Leaflets, handed out by the protesters to passers-by, said unchecked imports and direct film distribution by U.S. exporters would ruin or colonize South Korean film markets. The protesters also urged the boycott of U.S. films and withdrawal of American distribution officials. Opposition political parties and dissident groups have promised to support the boycott. In large advertisements Saturday in two major Seoul newspapers, Jack Valenti, chairman of the Motion Picture Export Assn. of America, said Americans should be allowed the same treatment as South Korea exporters receive in the United States.