▲ Seoul Cinema will hold a "Goodbye Screening" for 3 weeks starting from the 11th. The photo shows the visitors in line to get a free ticket. (Yonhap)

 

 

▲ This photo, provided by Seoul Cineam, shows Sep. 17, 1978 opening of Seoul Cinema with its first film "The Last Winter." (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)

 

 

▲ This photo shows Seoul Cinema. (Yonhap)

 

 

▲ Seoul Cinema will hold a "Goodbye Screening" for 3 weeks starting from the 11th. The photo shows a visitor choosing a movie. (Yonhap)▲ 서울극장 개장 (서울=연합뉴스) 1978년 9월 17일 '마지막 겨울'을 첫 상영작으로 문을 연 서울극장 모습. [서울극장 제공. 재판매 및 DB 금지]

 

 

 

SEOUL, Aug. 11 (Yonhap) -- “At our times, we used to work on Saturdays too, so we went to the movies usually on Sundays and had to wait in line for at least an hour. Those were the days when movies were the only entertainments.”

Kim Deok-jun (60), a citizen who used to go to the movie theaters around Jongno until the early 1980s said, after visiting Seoul Cinema which has been on its spot in Jongno sam ga. Kim who has come a long way to the theater repeatedly expressed his disappointment over the soon-closing theater with sweat on his forehead.

Seoul Cinema, which has been losing its visitors to brand theaters like CGV and Lotte Cinema and suffering from financial crises due to the long-term spread of the COVID-19 infection, will close its doors from August 31st. The day we met Kim was the theater’s first day of “Goodbye Screening” event to show their gratitude for their visitors by giving out free movie tickets in order of arrival.

The number of watchers who visited the theater early in the morning in time for free tickets were around 15. Due to the fourth wave of the pandemic and the hot summer weather, the theater was quite empty even with its last event.

Kim Jeong-soo (42) who visited the theater with his wife said, “I watched movies such as “Jurassic Park” and “Saving Private Ryan” since I was a student. Actor Jang Dong-gun visited the theater for the premiere of “2009: Lost Memories.” At those times, I heard that actors sat on the 2nd floor café next to the theater when their films released to foresee their movies’ success by seeing how many audiences were in line”

Lee (46) who came to watch “Escape from Mogadish” with the free ticket said that she had first visited Seoul Cinema with her friends back in high school to watch “Ghost” (1990). These days, she watches her wish lists through mutiplex which is in every town, but in the past she remembered looking for films to watch films.

“There used to be a lot of theaters in Jongno, but each theater only ran one movie. If Seoul Cinema showed “Commando,” another showed “E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (E.T.).” So we had to search for the theater that showed the film we wanted to watch.“

Seoul Cinema which started with a Korean movie “The Last Winter” in Sep. 17, 1978, opened its doors with only one screen. It became the country’s first multiplex with 11 added screens by the late Hapdongfilm chairman Kwak Jeong-hwan who took over the theater, which used to reopen existing movies, and remodeled into first-run theater.

During the 80 and 90s. the renaissance time of Korean movies, the theater became a cultural center for friends, families and lovers with Danseongsa, Piccadilly, Hollywood, Skara, Kukdo Theatre and Daehan Cinema. It has expanded its field as an art theater showing various films from recent releases to indie and art movies.

However, their profits kept decreasing as less people visited the theater and the pandemic made it worse. “The theater used to be full of people. Popcorns rolled around the floors of the screen which could hold more than a thousand watchers. But visitors kept decreasing and after the outbreak of the COVID-19 infection the whole theater became empty,” said a sanitary employee who worked for the theater for over 10 years.

Cinephilies showed their disappointment for the loss of these theaters disappearing into history.

Director Choi Jong-hyun, producer of “The Little Prinece” (2007) and screenwriter of “Wedding Campaign” (2005) visited the theater and said, “This is a place unforgettable for those who dream of films. Like standing in line before the opening of the luxury stores in the department stores these days, there used to be winding line along the Cheonggyecheon in front of Seoul Cinema. There were also people who came from other regions the day before. It is such a shame for this place to disappear.”

“Seoul Cinema used to show movies that were easily overlooked by other movie centers. I feel sad for such theater having to close its doors,” said Jung (41) who visited the the theater once or twice a month in search for minor films.

An audience in one’s 20s who said to have come to the theater for the first time to watch “Foxcatcher” showed disappointment over the closing of such valuable theater.

Hapdongfilm, the operator of Seoul Cinema, said that the movie center will be closing its doors but will start a new form of theater business and production and investment on contents other than films. There are no confirmed plans for the usage of the theater’s building.

“Hapdongfilm, who has been interacting with the audiences in the flow of ever-changing times, is making its first step with the close of Jongno samga's Seoul Cinema,” said an official from Hapdongfilm.

(END)

[ⓒ K-VIBE. 무단전재-재배포 금지]