Korea rolls out 2 million movie coupons

Starting Wednesday, the government will offer 2.05 million first-come, first-served discounts of 6,000 won ($3.90) for tickets at the country’s major multiplex chains.

A cinema in Yongsan District, central seoul, on March 25. NEWS1

Moviegoers in Korea are getting another discount this week. The government will hand out 2.05 million coupons starting Wednesday, each good for 6,000 won ($3.90) off a movie ticket, in a renewed push to bring audiences back to theaters.

The coupons are the second batch in a program funded by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the Korean Film Council, which sent out the first round in May to revive a slumping box office.

CGV, Lotte Cinema, Megabox and Cine Q, the country's four major multiplex chains, will each deposit two coupons into members' online coupon boxes on their websites and booking apps at 10 a.m. Wednesday. The discount is applied at checkout on a first-come, first-served basis.

Once a chain uses up its allotment, the discount ends there and any unused coupons left in members' boxes expire automatically.

Independent and arthouse theaters, small local theaters and senior cinemas are not part of the rollout. They have run their own first-come discounts on-site since May 13.

The ministry and the council secured a 27.1 billion won supplementary budget billed as promoting "livelihood stability and film-industry revitalization," and released the first coupons on May 13. All told, the program covers 4.5 million discounted tickets.

The Korean Film Council's ticketing figures show box-office revenue climbed 47.9 percent to 15.9 billion won in the week after the first coupons went out, up from 10.7 billion won the week before.

The biggest winners from the first round were the Michael Jackson biopic "Michael," which opened May 13 and topped the box office, and director Yeon Sang-ho's "Colony," which followed on May 21.

This time, the coupons are likely to boost the two films topping advance ticket sales: Na Hong-jin's sci-fi action film "Hope," which opens July 15, currently ranks first, followed by Disney's live-action "Moana," which opens Wednesday.

This image released by Disney shows Catherine Laga'aia in a scene from "Moana." (Disney via AP) DISNEY

The ministry pointed to the early results as a sign the program is working.

"We were able to confirm that the first round of coupons had a positive effect on theatergoing," a ministry policy official said, "and we will continue to make wide-ranging efforts to help the Korean film industry regain its vitality."

The coupons can be stacked with Culture Day promotions as well as early-bird, youth, senior, disability and credit-card billing discounts, but not with mobile carrier membership discounts.

A full list of participating theaters, and which ones have exhausted their funding, is available on the Korean Film Council's website at kofic.or.kr. A phone line is also open for those less comfortable booking online, at 02-2135-2618.

BY NA WON-JEONG [cho.yongjun1@joongang.co.kr]