What’s it Like Going to the Movies in Korea?
BY JL COPELAND
Same as anywhere, I guess. They have the same popcorn, hotdogs, and snacks. Although the floor is less sticky than at movie theatres in the UK.
Yep, this post is all about movies. Can’t think of many songs about movies, but this classic was inspired by Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey.
2001!? It’s 2026 already.
Where’s my spaceship?
Where’s my trip to the moon?
I feel I’m closer to that monkey with the bone than Major Tom (although even if we did have interstellar travel, I’d still probably feel that way — but that’s just me).
It’s been a busy few weeks.
I’ve essentially been locked in my room for the most part, avoiding the sun like Nosferatu, trying to get as much of Nicksgate edited before I start back at university this week.
Unfortunately, such behaviour, although productive, doesn’t exactly generate riveting material for blog posts.
I did go for a colonoscopy last week, but that would really be scraping the bottom…
Although I spotted that next week is The Academy Awards (The Oscars).
I love the Oscars. It screens at mid-morning on a Monday here in Korea (I have Mondays off), so rather than quaffing champagne, I luxuriate on the sofa with a pile of trans-fat-laced pastries and strong coffee and fantasize.
It’s always the same fantasy.
The one where my novel is published, becomes a bestseller and is adapted into a movie. Then they ask me to write the screenplay and — naturally — I win an Oscar for it (if the pastries are especially calorific, I also cast myself in the movie and win best actor, too).
Yes, I have it all planned out.
Yes, I already have a draft of my acceptance speech (I’m serious).
Yes, I am a lunatic.
This year, I’ve seen about half of the Best Picture nominees so far. My fave: Marty Supreme, with One Battle After Another a close second. Both films are quite similar, essentially a litany of chaotic but entertaining events.
Kind of like my life when I think about it (without the entertaining part).
On a side note: My favourite movie of all time? Aliens. I even wrote a love letter to it in this blog post.
Which Korean film won an Oscar?
Parasite by Bong Joon-Ho.
What is considered the best Korean movie of all time?
In the West, that would either be Parasite or Old Boy. Both great movies.
But hands down, my favourite is Memories of Murder.
It’s scary, it’s funny, it’s based on a true story (and because of this, the final image of the movie will never leave you). I’ll stop there as I don’t want to spoil it, but do check it out.
Here’s the preview/trailer for it. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0n_HQwQU8ls
Which Korean movie has the best reviews?
Again, that would be Parasite, followed by Old Boy and Memories of Murder. But trust me, give Memories of Murder a whirl.
Do they play movies in English in Korea?
All foreign (i.e. none-Korean) films are played in the film’s original language. The exception is kids’ movies (especially animations), which are either in the original or dubbed in Korean (the language is marked on the showing time).
How much is a cinema ticket in Korea?
In 2026, about 10 dollars/7 pounds. IMAX tickets are around 20% more expensive. There’s usually about a 20% discount for kids and early bird (before 10AM) tickets. A popcorn and cola set will cost about 6 dollars/4 pounds.
But what’s it REALLY like going to the movies in Korea? Can you take your own food and drink into the cinema in Korea?
Clean, comfortable. Audiences are well-behaved. No necking with your significant other or throwing popcorn.
The meme at the top of this post doesn’t apply to Korean cinemas. You can take in whatever food you like (within reason; if you brought in a lobster Thermidor with roasted asparagus and saffron sauce, eyebrows might be raised). Although alcohol is a no-no, unless it’s the cinema’s own.
This is surprising, as you’d think they’d try to make as much money as they can, because at the moment, Korean cinema is dying on its arse.
After the pandemic, in the US, the UK and Japan, I read that cinema audiences have bounced back to about 70-80% of their pre-pandemic levels. But in Korea, it’s hovering around 50%.
Because of this, investment in filmmaking has been cut, and Korean movie companies stick almost exclusively to the safe bets of action comedies or crime thrillers.
But due to the rise of streaming services like Netflix, Korean audiences now have more diverse tastes and, in turn, are pickier about what they go to the cinema to see.
So, it’s become a death spiral: people don’t go to the cinema because they don’t show the movies they want, and the movie companies respond by playing it safe and narrowing the range of movies they put out even further, which causes fewer people to go etc. etc. etc.
I have Korean friends who only go to the cinema to watch Hollywood movies because they say Korean movies are repetitive trash. This isn’t true; Koreans can make fine movies, but apart from the odd Bong Joon Ho (Parasite) or Park Chan Wook (Oldboy) movie, the last five years have indeed been poor (I go to the cinema every month or so, and the last Korean movie I went to see was in 2022).
Our household also has skin in the game here, as my wife is an actress (disclaimer: not a famous one, or one who particularly gets any work—like 99% of most of the acting profession).
Hopefully, the slump ends soon, and I have more excuses to don a serviette and wheel in my lobster Thermidor past the popcorn stand.
Speaking of dying on your arse, I would be delighted to receive suggestions from any of you chaps and chapesses as to any topic you would like me to cover. I need help (in more ways than one).
Don’t be shy; if there’s anything at all you’re curious about, be it writing, Korea, raising kids, horror, the horror of raising kids, hit me with a reply in the comments.
“We’re on an express elevator to hell. GOING DOWN!”
– Private Hudson, Aliens
Speak soon
JL
PS: For free stories, wafer-thin after-dinner mints and more guff from a 40-something writer trapped in Korea, trying to tunnel out one word at a time, sign up for the newsletter: