Universidad de La Sabana

Communication faculty

Media Economy

Juliana Andrea Vargas Portillo

2019
 ​Innovation in movie theaters in South Korea

Today there is a lot of new products and ways to consume them, those are brought by
creativity and imagination, but that isn’t enough. There are many factors that will make
new things to have value and one of them, is innovation. By innovation, it means the ability
to change things and turn them into a new experience, into an original way of seeing things
that will also change the human’s vision and eventually will help to develop the world one
way or another.

Since innovation is raising consumerism is too, and one of the countries with more
consumerism in the world is S. Korea, that’s why their innovation rate its really high and
according to Bloomberg 2019 innovation Index, it’s ranked one on the list of World’s Most
Innovative Economies for sixth-year consecutive.

For the level of innovation, S. Korea has within the new creations and ways to
Consume them, first place is well deserved. Also, they are always thinking about giving
innovation the importance it deserves, according to the Consumer Technology Association,
South Korea allocates a 4,3% of its GDP in research and development (R&D).

Because they are constantly searching for things that can provide new experiences for the
users, giving them more comfort and enjoyability, it's why Korea is regularly developing
unique inventions and ways to involve people with them. They are always thinking about
the public, how to please their necessities and even create new ones. In addition, besides
from their creations, the country is very well known because of their fan service, one
perfect example since their K-Pop economy is rising because of this same reason. But this
document isn’t about K-pop, it’s about movie theaters and how they manage to create a
totally new experience for the spectators.

Something that it’s really common in South Korea, is going to movie theaters due to the
gross of its film industry, that’s why movie theaters are really common and there are many
around the country. Just in Seul, the capital, there are around 580 screens, and in Gyeonggi,
there are around 660 more and some of them are the best in the world according to a list
made by CNN. Also, this country has the biggest screen in the world located in Gangnam,
Seoul.

Going back to the innovative creations Koreans have made for their users, let’s start from
the fact that South Korea was the first country that made a 4DX movie in 2009 with the
​ his format was
release of New Line Cinema's movie ​Journey to the Center of the Earth. T
launched by the theater chain CJ CGV, which is now the largest multiplex cinema chain
in South Korea and the fifth largest multiplex theater company in the world. This
achievement is in part thanks to the 4DX launch. In 2010 with the screening of Avatar a
great impact was generated because of the great technology, since then CJ CGV gained
more recognition, then started to expand more theaters throughout South Korea and also
more countries. Now it is placed in China, Vietnam, Indonesia, Myanmar, and the USA
apart from South Korea.

And it’s not just the creation of 4DX that CJ CGV has made to be recognized and generate
value, this cinema chain is constantly looking for diversity, improvement and expansion,
that’s why there is a lot of variety in movie theaters in order to provide an exclusive
experience that can’t be found anywhere else. Among them, there’s IMAX theatre, Tempur
Cinema, The Private Cinema and others that I will explain briefly. But for anyone who is
interested, they can look at all the information about any cinema on the web page, that is
available for every person every
We all know how 4DX works, but what about this one called Tempur Cinema. This theatre
is the world’s first reclining bed cinema, there are actually beds located by pairs around the
room, they are very comfortable and apart from that it is an all included experience, that
means people will have a free menu to choose and outside the room a bar where they can
pick anything they want, also there will be waitresses that will serve the clients inside the
theatre.

Another one is the Sphere X​ ​this theatre features a screen

that curves both vertically and horizontally, 3D sound and
reclining chairs to provide an optimal field of view by
installing each seat at different heights and angles. These
all will provide an immersive feeling in the spectator and
an experience many may want to live again.

To not extend in the description of each of the different

theaters CJ CGV has, let’s end with an original way that is not based in how you live, feel
and watch the movie but with who. Sweetbox is a special premium seat situated in a just
couples area, where big and comfortable seats are offered so the couple can have its own
 space to share the movie. But the
experience doesn’t end here, for those
who want an even more private area,
there is Sweetbox premium, which offers
a more private visualization of the movie
from a two-floor balcony and chairs even
more comfortable.

To have this extra experience it is obvious that a extra payment needs to be made, but the
ticket price of a special theatre doesn’t have a big difference compared to the general ticket,
this can be evidenced in a video made by Soo Zee and Leigh, in which they give a small
description of some movie theaters placed in Seoul. That video can be found and the next
link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3qfsusYa8ZQ

But this essay is not only about CJ CGV even though it is the most important theatre chain
in South Korea. This country also offers a variety of movies with English subtitles for those
who are foreigners and just want to enjoy a movie in Korea without needing to know the
local language. Nevertheless, there will be some conditions that won’t facilitate finding
those sub movies, for example, one cause is that they are shown at a specific hour and
place; the theater can be smaller than the regular ones or if it’s a general theater there will
be only tickets for movies targeted for children and lastly if someone wants to see a new
movie it may not be available after three or more weeks. Even so, the conditions where
many, the options and places to go are as various as them.

As always there’s CJ CGV with its special

content available for foreigners, but many
others can show them too, however, these
other options are more indie movie
theaters than regular ones. There is this
one called Arthouse Momo, is kind of a
paradise for people who love indie movies
yet, it only has two screens but comfortable enough to enjoy the movie. Some other options
to enjoy different movies with English subtitles are Cinecube or the Emu Art Space, these
are very similar to Arthouse Momo and if a person wants to buy some food outside and
then enter to the theatre to watch the movie, they are free to do it.

Finally, one last thing South Korea offers that gives a

feeling of satisfaction for the consumer is the way people
can buy the ticket. As for CJ CGV, they have the option to
buy the tickets in the application, without having to make a
long line and wait for a long time. But this may not be a
new thing, what it’s new is that, in the app, people can
personalize their ticket with a printed photo at the other
side with a instant photo look, it will work as a memory
that many people would like to have.

In conclusion, is notable the creativity Korea has for its products, but they don’t only think
about creating great things impulsed by creativity. They always have the consumer in mind,
and by doing that, they are thinking about ways to innovate the things that already exist and
therefore give them a value. This value is seen through the unique experiences they
provide, the variety, the comfortability and the change in peoples perspective of simple
things like a movie theater.
REFERENCES

● CJ CGV. (n.d). CGV의 특별관을 즐기는 두가지 스타일 Technology, 그리고.

Seoul, South Korea. CGV 안내. Retrieved from:
Lifestyle.​http://m.cgv.co.kr/WebApp/SpecialV4/List.aspx
● Do Stuff. (2016, July 15). Korean movie theaters are awesome. [Video file].
Retrieved April 1, 2019, from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3qfsusYa8ZQ
● Fortuño, M. (2019). Estos son los países más innovadores en el mundo según la
CTA. El blog Salmón. Retrieved from:
https://www.elblogsalmon.com/economia/estos-paises-innovadores-mundo-cta#
● Jamrisko, M, ​Miller, L. J and​ Wei, L. (2019, January 22). These Are the World’s
Most Innovative Countries. Retrieved from:
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-01-22/germany-nearly-catches-kor
ea-as-innovation-champ-u-s-rebounds
● JEKS Coreana. (2017, November 5). ASÍ ES EL CINE IMAX EN COREA! - JEKS
[Video file]. Retrieved April 1, 2019, from:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AEdEd3_rSt0
● Liviapop. (2017). Movie Theaters With English Subtitles. Korea. HiExpat.
Retrieved from: http://www.englishspectrum.com/movie-theaters-english-subtitles/
● Sychowski, P. (2015). Korea’s CJ CGV to Become “World’s Largest Cinema
Chain”. United States. CelluloidJunkie. Retrieved from:
https://celluloidjunkie.com/2015/11/20/koreas-cj-cgv-become-worlds-largest-cinem
a-chain/
● Wikipedia. (2019). CJ CGV. Wikipedia. Retrieved from:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CJ_CGV#Special_theaters
● Wikipedia. (2019). 4DX. Wikipedia. Retrieved from:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/4DX