Dr. Chungmuro, or how I Learned To Stop Worrying and Love The Holiday(s)

Ahhh... 설 연휴 (Lunar New Year) holidays, finally. The moment when Koreans take a step back, enjoy time with their families back in their hometowns, and eat as if the end of the world was coming. A time when we're all more kind and understanding... like all the people involved in the Screen Quota scandal. Culture/Tourism Minister Jung Dong-Chae announces the Government will support the industry with an injection of 400 Billion Won over 5 years, to help build theaters dedicated to Independent and Art Cinema, fund productions, and more. And what do the Chungmuro folks say? "That's nonsense. Resign now!"

In this air of mutual respect and friendship, Korean viewers said a collective 'meh' and, guess what... they went to the theater! First the sensation of the moment, Lee Joon-Ik's 왕의 남자 (The King and The Clown) reached the 7 Million tickets mark, in only 29 days. On release over 342 nationwide screens, the Historical Drama starring Jung Jin-Young and Gam Woo-Sung sold 145,000 tickets on the 26th, for a total of 7,003,467. This is a slightly slower run than Kang Je-Gyu's 태극기 휘날리며 (Taegukgi), which reached 7 Million in only 21 days, but it's much better than last year's chart topper 웰컴 투 동막골 (Welcome To Dongmakgol), which took 63 days to reach the 6 Million mark. Kwak Kyung-Taek's 친구 (Friend) and its 8.1 Million are getting closer by the minute, and then the film will try to challenge for the top.

But the comedy 투사부일체 (My Boss, My Teacher) -- yes, they changed the English title, if you were wondering -- is not doing too shabby either. Producers Cinema Zenith announced the film sold 2,510,000 tickets nationwide as of January 26th. This figure was in large part supported by a strong wave of 지방 (the area outside Seoul) viewers, who will continue to push the film during the weekend, when perhaps it will hit the 4 Million. The release has even been increased from 450 to 470 screens. Finally, the parties involved (CJ CGV and Lotte Entertainment/Hyunjin Cinema) solved their problems over the release of 홀리데이 (Holiday), and the film will return on release over 20 CJ CGV screens. See... I already feel better. Must be the holidays.

A Happy Lunar New Year to all Twitch readers. 설 연휴 잘 보내세요!

[Sources: Star News 1, Star News 2]