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The three current trends in Korean moviegoers’ viewing habits, as determined by the ‘CGV Film Industry Media Forum in the First Half of 2017’, are 'more than one screening', 'viewing alone' and ‘importance of middle-aged viewers'. Such changes are not totally new. Korean film industry gradually went through structural changes during the 2010s. In the 90s, most moviegoers were couples in their 20s. However, it gradually changed as multiplex cinemas were quickly proliferating during the 2000s, and since 2010 the film viewing culture has been changing radically. 

Before the advent of multiplex cinemas, films were centered on the “spaciousness” of specific theaters. Each theater had its own lineup reflecting its rather distinctive character. It was a time when there was no online ticketing yet, so moviegoers had to go to ticket office in time so that they could watch the films they wanted to. Theaters were a meeting place, and the films that you would watch with a specific person at a specific time and in a specific theater would become fond memories.  

Multiplexes have changed everything. There is no more relationship between a theater and its screening schedule. Since each of these multiplexes runs several different films, moviegoers started to make their choices based on the location of the multiplexes first, and then the films themselves. This, combined with the shopping malls and food courts, made multiplexes more and more attractive to families. 

At the same time, they also started to attract single viewers. It has now become normal for moviegoers to watch a film by themselves, as multiplexes are designed for anonymous mass consumption of films. All three changes raised by the CGV Forum result from multiplexes.

First, watching the same film more than once is not unusual among young moviegoers. According to the documents from the Forum, 57,000 people watched a film more than 3 times. One of them made the headlines by watching PARK Chan-wook’s The Handmaiden (2016) as many as 111 times. THE WAILING (4.2 times), LUCK-KEY (4.1 times), Doctor Strange (3.7 times) and Operation Chromite (3.6 times) were the films whose audience remained the most loyal in 2016.

In that regard, La La Land has been one of the most popular films. 490,000 viewers watched it twice or more a day, and some watched it as many as 9 times a day. "For young viewers in their 20s and 30s, it has become common to watch their favorite films more than once," says LEE Seung-won, CGV Research Center manager. They would often show their tickets on social network as proof. 

What invites more than one screening is not just the charm of the film itself. It also has to do with the change in the screening pattern in the theaters. First of all, special formats such as IMAX and Atmos Sound have been made largely available. A film can offer a different kind of experience according to the theater and the technique of screening. For devoted film lovers, it means a lot of decisions to take when they want to watch a film: in which theater, on which screen, with which system. 

Another reason why theaters in South Korea encourage the audience to watch a film several times is that the run of a film lasts only so many days, which is not long at all. So those who want to enjoy their favorite film at theaters tend to pick a day and watch it several times during the day. 

 

It is also to be noted that there has been an increase of people belonging to the group of 'solo moviegoers’. The trend towards the attendance of more than one screening of the same movie was made possible in the first place by the progression of this group. It also reflects the paradigm shift of film viewing, from a collective experience to a personal and individual one. 

According to the CGV stats, 13% of the total attendance of last year watched their film alone. It is a big jump compared to 9.2% in 2014 and 10.7% in 2015. In a survey taken by CGV members, the share of people who experienced watching a film alone has also increased to 32.9% last year from 25.6% in 2014 and 29.2% in 2015. 

According to the survey, the reasons why these people prefer watching films alone are because it allows them to concentrate more on the films, but also because it is hard to find company, and finding a time and a place they can all agree on requires a lot of effort. Judging from the rapidity of its growth, this group seems to be with the biggest potential for the future. They are considered as an important marketing target for the film exhibition industry. 

On a broader scale, it can be seen as a social phenomenon. Single-person households are increasing, and more and more people eat and drink alone. Watching films alone is also in line with such changes. In terms of their age, they are mostly in their late 20s to early 30s, mostly women than men, and they appreciate this style of free culture. In terms of schedule, they prefer the first screenings in the morning during the weekdays or the late-night screenings. "I expect this group of solo moviegoers to increase, as social structural changes and the abrupt decrease of population accelerate", says JO Sung-jin, the promotion manager at CJ CGV. 

Last of all, we couldn’t omit the increase of the moviegoers over the age of 45 when discussing the new trends in attendance. Their portion was only 5.3% ten years ago, in 2007, but increased to 20.3% last year. Not only do they occupy a big portion in the kind of films traditionally appreciated by the older generations, like Roaring Currents (2014), but also amount to 20% or so of the audience of TRAIN TO BUSAN (2016), a zombie thriller, which shows that they do not confine themselves to any specific genre.