Korean Flicks Dominate Domestic Box Office This Summer

Korean films are having the upper hand at local theaters this summer and crowding out their Hollywood rivals.

The Korean Film Council said on Wednesday that director Bong Joon-ho's "Snowpiercer" and Kim Byeong-woo's "The Terror Live" have attracted 8.34 million and 5.14 million spectators, respectively.

Kim Jee-woon's "Hide and Seek" and Kim Seong-su's "The Flu", which were released two weeks later, have so far garnered box-office admissions of 2.61 million and 2.09 million.

Owing to a wave of domestic hits, the market share of Korean films reached 89.1 percent last weekend. The local film industry is now said to be enjoying a boom due to a variety of films helmed by both well-known and rookie directors.

As of Wednesday, Korean films have attracted a total of 81.72 million spectators this year, putting them well on track to pass the 100-million mark for the second year after the milestone was first reached in 2012. Some critics even optimistically predict the figure will extend as far as 200 million viewers, as a spate of films with heavyweight names are awaiting release in the second half of this year.

"The Spy", starring Daniel Henney, Moon So-ri and Sul Kyung-gu is due out on Sept. 5. "The Face Reader", which boasts a star-studded cast including Kim Hye-soo, Lee Jung-jae and Song Kang-ho, "The Huntresses", a Korean version of the American action comedy Charlie's Angels starring Son Ga-in, Ha Ji-won and Kang Ye-won, and "Friends 2", a sequel to the 2001 record-breaking film by _Kwak_Gyeong-taek, will all follow suit.