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Korean blockbusters battle it out at the box office

Two domestic blockbusters, both dealing with the division of the Korean Peninsula, are breaking box-office records and uncovering new possibilities for the local market.
After reaching 8.27 million viewers to break the all-time attendance record Jan. 31, "Silmido" is continuing to rewrite the record books by racing past 9 million viewers, its distributor Cinema Service said Saturday.
The tally stood at 9.01 million viewers as of Friday, which marks 45 days since the film hit theaters on Christmas Eve last year. Although the film is now facing its seventh week of release, it is still adding about 100,000 viewers a day and may soon open "the era of 10 million viewers" here.
"Silmido", starring Sol Kyung-gu and Ahn Sung-gi, is based on a true story of a secret government project to deploy commandos to Pyongyang to assassinate Kim Il-sung.
Meanwhile, the Korean War epic "Taegukgi" is already breaking box-office records set just recently by "Silmido". "Taegukgi" attracted 324,000 viewers Thursday to edge the opening day attendance record of 301,000 viewers previously held by its rival.
Now showing on 440 screens around the nation, the film is expected to challenge other box-office records before it is finished.
"Taegukgi", starring Jang Dong-gun and Won Bin, portrays the crisscrossing fates of brothers forced to fight in the 1950-1953 Korean War.

By Kim Jin

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