Period drama dominates box office over Lunar New Year holiday

SEOUL, February 19 (AJP) - Director Jang Hang-jun's "The Man Who Lives with the King" has attracted over 400 million viewers since its release earlier this month.

According to the Korean Film Council, the period drama has topped the box office for seven consecutive days since last Friday, when South Korea's biggest Lunar New Year holiday began, drawing a cumulative 4.17 million viewers since its release on Feb. 4.

Last Tuesday alone, it drew about 661,449 viewers, the highest single-day holiday attendance since March 2020, when the coronavirus pandemic kept audiences away from theaters.

It took 15 days for the film to reach the milestone, two days faster than "The King and the Clown," the first period drama to attract 10 million moviegoers in 2005, and last year's top-grossing film "My Daughter is a Zombie."

The film tells the story of Danjong, the sixth king of the Joseon Dynasty, who was exiled to Yeongwol, Gangwon Province.

Meanwhile, director Ryoo Seung-woo's spy-action film "Humint," starring Park Jeong-min and Zo In-sung, was also off to a strong start, drawing over 1 million viewers in about a week since its release on Feb. 11.