I have now seen three Korean movies on the big screen with no English subtitles and little help with translation from my Korean friends (unless there was something REALLY bugging me about the plot that I had to ask about). I really want to keep this experience free of any language cheating. I’ll write about that later, but first, let me tell you a little bit about the actual experience of going to a Korean movie theater.
To be honest, my first cinema experience in Korea (they call the theaters “cinemas” and since Americans do that too sometimes, I might as well) was to see Get Smart with my American friend who looks like he could play the lead in a film about Norsemen. I was surprised to find how easy it was get tickets in English even though at first I got confused stares from the ticketing boy behind the counter since I definitely look the part of a real Korean-speaking Korean. But after some gesturing and slow speaking, we got two tickets for around 7,000 won or roughly $6 (reminds when tickets were that price a few years ago in the States). In Korea, you can choose where you want to sit in the theater, which is very convenient if you are just a pair of movie-goers but I suspect not so convenient if you are part of a large group. Anyways, since I prefer to sit towards the back and smack in the middle of the row, I rather like reserving my seats in advance. I think they do that in Australia, too. Or was that London…anyways back to Korea.
You can choose the regular salty kind of popcorn at the snack stand or you can choose a “sweet” option with caramel corn-type flavoring. I think I prefer the good ol’ salty kind, though. They usually don’t have candy, but they often offer things like hot dogs, nachos, and pretzels. Koreans really love ojinga, or dried squid, so they have that available in most places, too. Of course, each cinema has its own offerings in terms of snacks, but if you want anything American-esque I recommend getting it from the convenience store around the corner since the stewards don’t seem to mind if you bring in your own treats (although I wouldn’t flaunt that you have them in your possession either). While I haven’t tried the ojinga from the snack stand, I have had it from the grocery store and it is rather good, if a little chewy. Kind of like a milder, saltier, softer form of beef jerky without the rawhide appearance.
Anyways, there are three main cinemas in Gumi. Lotte Cinema, which has two locations in Gumi, is kind of like the local AMC theaters and CGV is has more international offerings (I have seen Under the Same Moon and am looking forward to the Korean release of Let the Right One In from Sweden). Both theaters show international releases from Hollywood, albeit a few months late sometimes. They are all in high rise buildings as everything in Korea is built upwards instead of outwards because of the lack of space. Movie-goers can either take the elevator or the escalator to get to the appropriate floor. The elevators in the downtown Lotte Cinema have stewards that check your tickets and direct you to the right floor, but I prefer the escalator ride in the CGV building because you can look outside the large paneled glass windows to view downtown on the way up and it’s particularly pretty at night. I also love seeing the larger-life movie posters they have posted on each level – they are much bigger than the ones in the States which also makes them better in my opinion.
I have never seen such professional movie ushers outside of the ones you see in old movies. The ushers at Lotte Cinema and CGV have quite meticulous uniforms (usually dark pants or skirts and matching vests with ties or some sort of fancy closure at the neck). There is also a lot of bowing and “oso-o-shib-shi-o” (welcome) and I kind of feel like a celebrity when an usher is particularly polite. In this case, I prefer the ushers at CGV because there are more of them and they stand outside the theater entrances as opposed to the downtown Lotte Cinema where they are just at the elevators on the first floor (in fact, after I leave the elevator and step into the dimly-lit lobby on the higher floors I always feel like I’m lost). Because of the seating arrangements and perhaps the ûber-efficient Korean timing between shows, it’s almost impossible to enter the theater if you get there more than ten minutes early. Usually I’m sitting with my friend outside twiddling my thumbs and staring blankly at the ads for upcoming films. In these cases I hate small talk because I have to talk for hours every day with my classes so I don’t like talking when I don’t have to these days (some people may be relieved to hear that).
Whenever I enter the movie theater in Gumi, I am always surprised that no matter how recent the film is, there are never that many people in the theater. Even when I went to see Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day in Seoul (Korea’s answer to NYC), it wasn’t particularly full (more thoughts on this later). So when I went to see Get Smart I was surprised to find that my friend and I were two of maybe eight people there. This made it blatantly obvious that most of the American humor in the film went unregistered by the Korean audiences as we Americans were the only ones laughing hysterically for 90% of the time. The slapstick humor was the most translatable.
When you sit down in a Korean theater, the lights are dim, sometimes they are playing some K-pop music, but most of the time it’s just silent. Then they play commercials that you could find on TV or advertisements for local businesses. After that, you might get to see one or two previews for some upcoming films. I have always been a big fan of previews and love it when I forget what movie I actually came to see. I guess this is because my imagination fills in the rest of the storyline from the teasers. So it’s kind of disappointing when I only get to see one or two, and even more so when the teaser is in Korean and I have no idea if what I just saw is really what I think or did I misinterpret? Anyways, I’m always surprised how quickly the feature film starts and even after having gone to the cinema multiple times I am still confused at first if what I’m watching is another preview or really the start of the film. That’s American brain-washing for you. Or conditioning. Whatever. It’s confusing.
After Get Smart was over I was content to sit there and watch the credits (I love to do this if only to wait until the very end to see if the director has put in some sort of special treat for people like me who sit and watch until the very end). However, in Korean culture this is a very rare and slightly strange habit and so I always feel pressured to leave right away after the credits roll even if I want to see the cast list (I guess there’s always IMDB...). So I started to leave the same way I came in but was surprised (yet again) to find that you use the emergency (or so I thought) exit instead and find yourself in an entirely different and disorienting part of the cinema. And always, since Koreans sort their trash into recyclables, liquid waste and compost, I never know which trash can (they call them rubbish bins, after the Brits) to use and have to peer into them every time even though they are labeled in Korean and I could just memorize which ones are which.
But that’s ok with me, since I always have other things on my mind, like how I always forget that I’m in Korea whenever I go see an American (or English-speaking) movie despite the Korean subtitles at the bottom. And then, when the credits roll and I get out of my seat and see all of the Koreans around me "pop" I’m back in the reality of being far away from friends, family, pizza-by-the slice, cheap booze and cable TV.
See you again soon!
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