Several decades-old films from Korea will be re-released in Seoul this spring, as two of Korea's older movie theaters try to attract new audiences.
Hollywood Theater, located alongside the popular Insa-dong traditional shopping district, has recently devoted one of its screens to re-releases of classic Korean and international films. It is currently screening both Ben-Hur and the 1976 Korean film High School Joker by SEOK Rae-myeong. Well remembered by viewers in their forties now, High School Joker has attracted 366 viewers in limited screenings since its re-release.
Meanwhile, Dream Cinema in Seodaemun, the last old-style single screen theater in Korea, has agreed to co-host together with Hollywood Theater a special showcase of four classic Korean films from May 15 to June 19.
The four films, which will not be subtitled, include "High School Joker"; veteran director Im Kwon-taek's "Surrogate Woman" (1986), which won a Best Actress Award for Kang Soo-yeon at the Venice International Film Festival; Madame Freedom '81 (1981), PARK Ho-tae's remake of the popular 1956 classic that was the highest grossing Korean film of 1981; and "Robot Taekwon V", Kim Cheong-gi's 1975 animated classic that was re-released in a restored version last year to unexpectedly high box office results.
Outside of screenings at the Korean Film Archive, it is considered rare for classic Korean films to be revived in ordinary theaters or in retrospectives.
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