The 'Wang-sa-nam' Craze Spreads Beyond the Screen... Why Are Audiences Heading to Yeongwol?
The film 'The King's Warden' (hereinafter 'Wang-sa-nam') has recorded 16.88 million cumulative viewers, ranking second in the history of Korean cinema box office hits. Although four months have passed since its release, the fever remains high. On weekend mornings, tour buses bound for Yeongwol, Gangwon Province, line up at Jamsil Station in Seoul, and tourists continue to flock to Cheongnyeongpo, a filming location and the place of exile for King Danjong.
From the family of Park Kyeong-ah, who visited Yeongwol with her son whose interest in history was sparked by the movie, to couples following the lingering emotions of the film. Between January and May of this year, the number of visitors to major tourist attractions in Yeongwol has already easily surpassed double the total number of visitors for the entirety of last year. In an era where using OTT platforms has become daily routine, why do people go out of their way to spend time and money visiting theaters and stepping beyond the screen to the actual locations in the film? We covered the 'Wang-sa-nam' syndrome and the stories behind it.
The Era of 15,000 Won Tickets: What Does the Theater Mean to the OTT Generation?
For the OTT generation, movie theaters are no longer an everyday space. Kim Min-geol, president of the university film club 'Philmuse,' says, "When I tell people I'm in a film club, they tend to find it a bit fascinating. Many students think, 'Why should we pay expensive ticket prices to go to a theater when we can watch most things on OTT?'" As going to the theater has become a special form of consumption, the selection criteria for audiences have also risen. Gomong, a first-generation film creator with 2.55 million subscribers, explains, "We are now in an era where you cannot fake the essence." This means we have entered an era where word-of-mouth and reviews from people who have actually watched the movie are more important than flashy advertisements. Now, audiences only visit theaters when they are convinced that it is worth their time and money. Indeed, 'Wang-sa-nam' started off slow in the beginning of its release, but as word-of-mouth spread, it drew an unusual box office curve with the number of viewers increasing over time.
Will the 'Wang-sa-nam' Syndrome Signal an Escape from the Crisis for Korean Cinema?
With a series of Korean films, including 'Wang-sa-nam,' becoming box office hits in the first half of this year, expectations are rising that Korean cinema, which has suffered a long period of stagnation, might be reviving. However, voices from both inside and outside the film industry point out that it is difficult to view this as a recovery for the industry as a whole. Because investments and screens are concentrated only on works with high box office potential, even well-made independent and art films are losing their place in the market. Director Park Jun-ho, who won the Best New Director award in the film category at the Baeksang Arts Awards this past May, expressed his regret, saying, "Independent and art films are placed in a structure where it is difficult for audiences to access them because they have few screens and short screening periods in the early stages of release."
The government and the film industry are discussing various measures to sustain the long-awaited vitality of theaters. From distributing movie theater discount coupons and introducing subscription-based passes to the 'holdback' system that regulates the timing of releasing theatrical films on OTT platforms, efforts to find solutions to revive the Korean film ecosystem are underway. Can the 'Wang-sa-nam' syndrome serve as a signal for the resurrection of Korean cinema?
In this week's SBS 'News Story,' we examine the significance of the 16-million-viewer success of the film 'The King's Warden' and explore what conditions are necessary for Korean cinema to take another leap forward.
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.
