K-Content News

Moviegoers looking for safe ways to enjoy films amid pandemic

Want to stay at the edge of your seat during the movie, but worried about doing so at large multiplexes?
Well, there is another option for you.
Private theater AWC, an acronym for 'Another Watching Club', has opened in Hanam City, Gyeonggi-do Province to allow moviegoers to completely avoid any contact with strangers.
Unlike most movie theaters, there's no set timetable.
Instead, you just select the movie and time slot you want, then before the film starts, enter the private theater with the QR code.

(Standup/ed:steve)
"Once you get in with a QR code, the room -- which is around 20 square meters is all yours. It can hold up to four people, so movie fans can still watch the latest films with their friends without having to worry about coming into contact with others.”

(KOREAN/ )
"Amid the COVID-19 era, lots of movie lovers feel reluctant to watch films with strangers. So I came up with a four-people maximum theater where only family members and acquaintances can enjoy movies together."

Until now the key server technology that runs the film has been too large and too expensive for private studios to turn a profit, but AWC's self-developed server system now makes such businesses possible. Aside from being private there are many other merits too.

(KOREAN/ )
"It is hard to freely eat food if you have a stranger sitting next to you, but here we can eat and also it is nice that I can decide my own time to watch a movie."

Drive-in theaters too are also seeing a comeback recently.
As more people look for safer ways to enjoy the latest movies, large cinema chains including CGV have opened up drive-in theaters.
One of them in the port city of Incheon has space for almost one hundred cars.

(Standup/ed: paul)
"The movie is just about to start, and as you can see the drive-in theater is fully packed."

(KOREAN/ )
"As we move to the non-contact era along with the pandemic, lots of people are attracted to safely enjoying films in their own cars. Unlike indoor theaters, tickets are sold out until next Monday."

(KOREAN/ )
"As cases of the virus increase, I thought it is more risky to watch a movie with strangers in an enclosed space so I chose drive-in theaters."

Amid changing circumstances, both the movie sector and audiences are finding ways to enjoy films safely.
Kim Bo-young, Arirang news.