By Jane Han
Staff Reporter
The Los Angeles Times reported last week that movie theater attendances in the U.S. goes up during an economic slowdown, as more people spend money on the relatively low-cost entertainment. Here, however, the film industry doesn't seem to enjoy the same trend.
``It's actually the opposite,'' said Lim Ki-tae of the Korea Film Council, a local film promoting body, as he reflected back on 2003, when the country slipped into recession. ``The movie industry also experienced a slowdown.''
Council data showed that the film industry's growth rate dipped from 20.8 percent in 2002 to 13.3 percent in 2003. The number of annual moviegoers also slipped about 5 percent nationwide.
The negative growth is now repeating itself, as the domestic economy enters another slump. A March report released by CJ CGV, the largest local multiplex chain, indicated that February's movie attendance hit a record low of approximately 13.2 million, since the previous slump to 9.73 million in 2003.
The drop continued in the following month, as CGV's April report showed that the total number of moviegoers in March plunged another 23 percent compared to February.
``There's been a myth that movie sales grow strong through economic woes, but actual figures tell us differently,'' said Lim, adding that Koreans may not be turning to indoor entertainment as much as Americans do.
The U.S. daily said Americans' theater attendance increased during three of the last four recessions, adding that Hollywood is expecting another boom this year.
One reason why the two markets may be dissimilar is the difference in age groups of the moviegoers.
While ages 40-59 take up the biggest percentage (32 percent) of theatergoers in the U.S., according to the Motion Picture Association of America's 2007 data, early 20s take up the largest chunk here.
``The money squeeze and tougher job market affects younger people more than the older, which forces them to focus on their living,'' said Lim.
Another obvious reason behind the sluggish market is mediocre quality. There's hasn't been an eye-opener up to par with the impressive past releases of ``Shiri'' and ``King and the Clown,'' says experts.
``Regardless of the economic trend and any other external factor, if the movie is worth it, viewers will spend the money,'' said film critic Lisa Kim.