"President" attracts over 1 million to theaters

"Good Morning President", starring top Korean actor Jang Dong-gun, has surpassed the one million mark on the South Korean box office just seven days into its release.

According to estimates by the Korea Box Office Information System (KOBIS) on Thursday, "President" had accumulated over 1.05 million viewers by 5 a.m. since its release on October 22.

The film had topped the box office over the weekend with 713,114 viewers and a total 823,884 viewers, recording a bigger opening than "Take Off" which became the sixth most-watched Korean film in box office history earlier this year.

"President" is expected to maintain its position atop the box office for the upcoming weekend, with KOBIS statistics showing that the film is currently No. 1 in advance sales with a 33.9 percent reservation rate.

The film, about the life of three different presidents, is Jang's first box office hit in nearly four years, after starring in "Typhoon" in December 2005.

Veteran actors Lee Soon-jae and Goh Doo-shim also star in the movie which opened the 14th Pusan International Film Festival (PIFF) in early October this year.

Jessica Kim jesskim@asiae.co.kr