Elder Jeon Dae-hong from Yeongam: "Watching a Movie in a Theater for the First Time in 50 Years"

The Second Phase of the Hometown Love Fund Project 'Eomni Theater Gashige' Receives High Praise

“After watching (Paldo Sanai) in my 20s, I am seeing a movie in a theater for the first time in 50 years.” For Jeon Dae-hong (78), a senior citizen from Eomgil Village, Seoho-myeon, Yeongam-gun, the 19th was a special day.

Jeon Dae-hong woke up at 6 a.m., did some light exercise, and ate breakfast as usual. However, his schedule from 9 a.m. was quite different. Dressed neatly, Jeon and five other villagers went out to the main road in front of the village and boarded a chartered bus.

The seniors arrived at Gichan Cinema by two chartered buses, totaling 56 people. They split into theaters 1 and 2 and started watching the movie at 10 a.m.

Jeon said, “I knew a theater had opened in Yeongam-eup, but this is my first time visiting. I’ve been too busy to go to the theater. I heard that movies are being shown through the Hometown Love Fund. I’m grateful that movies are being shown thanks to donations sent from all over the country.”

Considering that (Paldo Sanai) was released in 1969, this theater outing for Jeon was well over half a century in the making.

Elderly people are waving their hands and taking photos before the movie screening.
[Photo by Yeongam-gun]

No Jeong-hyo (76) from Songsan Village loves movies so much that she visited theaters in Gwangju and Mokpo last year. For her, watching a movie with eight other villagers that day was also a special experience.

No said, “This is the first time I’m watching a movie in a theater this year. Because it’s supposed to rain tomorrow, many villagers couldn’t come today. It feels good to be at the theater after a long time, and it’s even better to come with the villagers. I’m thankful to those who made this good event possible.”

Yeongam-gun started the second phase of the Hometown Love Fund project, ‘Mom, Let’s Go to the Theater,’ on the 18th, beginning in Deokjin-myeon.

The project aims to provide theater outings for seniors living in rural areas who rarely get to watch movies in theaters, and to revitalize Gichan Cinema, the only movie theater in Yeongam-gun.

Excluding public holidays, from early May, every Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday morning, a total of 15,320 seniors aged 65 and older (as of January 2024) from each eup and myeon will be invited to Gichan Cinema to enjoy movies.

Before implementing the project, Yeongam-gun established support plans for each eup and myeon and conducted surveys on preferred movies to increase senior satisfaction.

Following Deokjin-myeon and Seoho-myeon, seniors from Geumjeong-myeon on the 24th, Sinbuk-myeon on the 25th, Sijong-myeon on the 26th, Doppo-myeon on the 1st of next month, Gunseo-myeon on the 2nd, Haksan-myeon on the 3rd, Samho-eup on the 8th, Yeongam-eup on the 9th, and Miam-myeon on the 10th are scheduled to visit Gichan Cinema in turn.

A county official stated, “After the first phase of the project concludes, we plan to continue it through the 2nd to 4th quarters following an evaluation. We will conduct more detailed movie demand surveys and, conditions permitting, add classic memorable films as well as the latest releases to the screening list to increase senior satisfaction.”

In February, Yeongam-gun conducted the first phase of the Hometown Love Fund project, a customized exercise class called the ‘Hip Amnesia Recovery Program’ to prevent muscle loss among seniors. Starting in May, the third phase will begin, introducing a ‘Pediatric Specialist Operation at Health Institutions’ project by inviting pediatric specialists for medical care.

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