Korean films break 100 million in attendance

Korean films are set to break the 100 million mark in attendance by Wednesday, according to the state-run Korean Film Council.

As of Tuesday morning, some 99.8 million viewers had watched Korean films since the beginning of January.

The milestone means Koreans saw at least two local films on average this year.

Korean films enjoyed much success this year, at both the box office and film festivals. Two local films ― Choi Dong-hun’s star-studded heist film “The Thieves” and Choo Chang-min’s period drama “Gwanghae: the Man who Became the King” ― sold more than 10 million tickets. It was the first time two Korean films had done so in the same year.

Local auteur Kim Ki-duk also made headlines by winning the top prize at this year’s Venice Film Festival for his bleak morality tale “Pieta,” becoming the first Korean filmmaker to win the award.

By Claire Lee (dyc@heraldcorp.com)