Concerns over MERS strike small theaters
A teacher takes a pupils’ temperature at a classroom in an elementary school in Seoul, Thursday, to see if they have a fever as a precaution against the spread of the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS). / Yonhap
By Kwon Mee-yoo
Concerns over Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) is sweeping the nation as 122 people were confirmed infected with the virus and about 4,000 people are under quarantine.
Amid the outbreak of MERS, people are wearing masks and avoiding crowded places to prevent contracting the virus. The show business industry has been affected by the fear of MERS as theaters and concert halls are major public gathering places.
Performances targeting children and the elderly have been hit hard as those groups are known to be more vulnerable to the MERS coronavirus.
The musical drama “Undutiful Son Cries,” which was scheduled to open on July 9 at Jangchung Gymnasium in central Seoul, postponed the performance indefinitely. Starring veteran actors Lee Duk-hwa and Kim Yeong-ok, the show mainly targets the silver-haired market and MERS has affected ticket sales, forcing the producing company to temporarily call the opening off.
Schools in Gyeonggi Province and southern Seoul, where these hospitals were identified as sources of infection, cancelled classes and that has influenced planned group visits to children’s theater performances.
“We receive calls asking for cancellation of already booked tickets, and reports about the MERS spread continue,” an official the ticket agency said.
Other small theater productions clustered in the Daehangno area are also suffering plunging ticket sales. According to Interpark, the nation’s largest online ticket vendor, ticket sales for plays dropped some 40 percent in the first week of June, which coincides with the MERS outbreak, compared to the previous week.
The Seoul Theater Association (STA) said it is collecting cases from theaters and production companies to estimate the impact.
“Many theatrical productions have popular appeal and are easily affected by the social and economical atmosphere. Last year, the sinking of Sewol ferry hit the theater industry hard, and it took months to recover. We plan to devise measures in cooperation with local governments,” an STA official said.