The Number of Movie Goers in Korea Increases Greatly This Year With Many Popular Korean Films

Korean blockbuster "The Thieves" has attracted more than 12 million viewers, since its release in late July.

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The action comedy is now officially the second most popular movie in Korean film history, in terms of the number of viewers.
The only movie it trails is The Host", which broke all box-office records with over 13 million tickets sold after its release in 2006.
"The Thieves", however, is just one of many Korean films that millions of movie goers in Korea have enjoyed so far this year.
A total of seven Korean movies have attracted more than than four million viewers, including "Nameless Gangster"
This is especially impressive, considering that over the last decade, the number of Korean film titles with more than four million viewers has never exceeded five a year.
Although Korean films accounted for more than 57 percent of total ticket sales this year, it is not only Korean films that have been benefited from the boom.
According to the Korean Film Council, some 120-million film tickets were sold in the country, as of the end of August,.. about 20 percent more than the number recorded during the same period last year.
The figure is expected to reach an all-time high by years end.
Experts say a structural change in the Korean film industry has contributed to the solid growth in audiences.
More diverse genres of films are being made, offering wider choice for movie goers, and attracting older generations to movie theaters,.. adding to regular young movie goers.
The improvement in the quality of Korean film has also played a role in the continual growth in the domestic film industry, as witnessed in Korean director Kim Ki-duk's film "Pieta", which won the Golden Lion award for best movie at this year's Venice Film Festival.

Park Ji-won, Arirang News.

Reporter : jiwonpark@arirang.co.kr