Movie theaters in South Korea

By the late 1950s, the industry began to recover, with the historic one-screen Daehan Theater opening in 1958.

The industry grew rapidly until the beginning of the 1970s, until the rise of televisions and strict media censorship laws.

Since the 1990s, the industry has consolidated, with the companies CGV, Lotte Cinema, and Megabox owning significant market share.

Concession snacks have also diversified, with numerous flavors of popcorn and a variety of foods being served.

[1] Dansungsa, a theater in Seoul that opened in 1907, was widely believed to have held that title until recently.

This theatre was capable of playing imported movies from France because of the facility having up-to-date video equipment.

When American films were shown in the country, theatres became segregated by whether they used the Korean or Japanese language.

For instance, street demonstrations were difficult due to the Japanese military, so instead, audiences in Danseongsa and Umiguwan shouted "Independence of Korea" during film screening as a form of protest.

[13] Daehan Theater too was renovated beginning in 2000,[14] although it survived the transition and continues to be in operation as of 2023[update].

The first drive-in theater of South Korea opened on April 23, 1994 at Bearstown in Pocheon, Gyeonggi Province.

Drive-ins were seen as luxuries and status symbols, as private cars were difficult to afford for many people at the time.

[16] Despite the loss of some historic original theaters, multiplexes have since led to a boom in film viewership since the turn of the century.

It is the world's first multi-face screening system that was co-developed by CGV and the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) in 2013.

[10] A hologram performance was held in 2014, that involved the musicians Psy, BigBang, and 2NE1 at the concert hall "Klive", which was funded by the government Ministry of Science, ICT and Information and Communication and the private company KT.

Movie theaters and other facilities like museums offer services at a discount or even for free on those days.

[22] Some theaters now sell alcohol and an increased variety of snack foods, including flavored popcorns, fried chicken, sausages, and different potato dishes.