Pandemic reduces number of S. Korean moviegoers by 70%

The number of moviegoers in South Korea is expected to plummet by 70 percent this year from 2019 due to restrictions imposed on in-person movie showings and people refraining from going to theaters.

Data from government-affiliated movie promotion committee Korean Film Council shows a sharp decrease from the 230 million who viewed movies at theaters in 2019 to 60 million so far this year.

Box office revenue is expected to plunge this year by the same percentage as the theatergoer numbers.

The dismal number was attributed to restrictions imposed on the number of theater seats and limits placed on late-night showings.

Many South Koreans also avoided spending extended periods confined in theaters.

A major multiplex operator plans to cut the number of its theaters by 30 percent in the next three years.

South Korea's movie industry was expected to catapult to new heights this year after the Oscar win by the movie "Parasite" in February, but the coronavirus pandemic dealt a serious blow as studios pushed back release dates for movie after movie.

It also caused the suspension of the filming of a new movie featuring Song Kang Ho, who played the father of a poor family in Parasite.