The 2030 Generation Angry at 'Seoul's Spring'... The Driving Force Behind 7.5 Million Viewers

Anger-Inducing Heart Rate Challenge → Jeon Dugwang Meme
Young Audience Consumes Like Movie Review Game

The film 'Seoul Spring,' which deals with the 12·12 military coup, has surpassed 7.5 million viewers. Steady interest continues as viewers in their 20s and 30s consume angry reviews like a game, mainly on social networking services (SNS).

According to the Korea Film Council's integrated box office data on the 14th, 'Seoul Spring' (directed by Kim Seong-su) attracted 188,751 viewers the previous day, ranking first at the box office. The cumulative number of viewers is 7,551,382.

The film, released on the 22nd of last month, has held the top spot at the box office for 22 consecutive days. It surpassed 1 million viewers on the 4th day, 2 million on the 6th, 3 million on the 10th, 4 million on the 12th, 5 million on the 14th, and 7 million on the 20th day. It also exceeded the break-even point of 4.2 million viewers within two weeks.

'Seoul Spring' is a film depicting the tense nine hours to prevent the rebellion by the new military forces that took place in Seoul, the capital, on December 12, 1979. Actor Hwang Jung-min plays Jeon Du-gwang, inspired by Chun Doo-hwan, and Jung Woo-sung portrays Lee Tae-shin, the Capital Security Commandant. Park Hae-joon, Lee Sung-min, and Kim Sung-kyun also appear. The film is directed by Kim Seong-su, known for 'Beat' (1997), 'Flu' (2013), and 'Asura' (2016).

The '12.12 military coup' refers to the event on December 12, 1979, led by Chun Doo-hwan and Roh Tae-woo, with the Hana Group, a private military organization within the army, at its center. This is a historical event that happened 44 years ago and became widely known only after it occurred. Among younger generations, there are responses that they have become interested through the film.

According to CGV, on the 5th, viewers in their 20s accounted for 26% and those in their 30s for 30% of the audience for 'Seoul Spring,' making the 20s and 30s group more than half of the viewers. This is higher than the relatively historically familiar generations of people in their 40s (23%) and 50s (17%).

'Spring in Seoul' Preview Screen
[Photo by Plus M Entertainment]

In particular, it is encouraging that the 20s and 30s viewers, who are accustomed to over-the-top (OTT) content, have a high viewing rate. One of the keywords that drew them to theaters is 'anger.' They are posting photos of their increased heart rates during the movie on social networking services (SNS) as part of a 'heart rate challenge' and sharing angry reviews on their personal accounts.

The 'meme' of Jeon Du-gwang, inspired by Chun Doo-hwan, also plays a role. They enjoy movie reviews like a kind of game, even recalling actor Hwang Jung-min's previous works who played Jeon Du-gwang.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.