No COVID-19 Transmission Cases... Food Ban Sparks Outrage in the Screening Industry

Government to impose a 3 million won fine for violations... Industry says "No issues occurred for 1 year"
"Unnecessary concerns increase due to sanctions based on a clumsy standard without a proper survey"

Despite the release of new films such as Jasan Eobo, Nobody, and Godzilla vs. Kong, movie theaters remain quiet. Concerns are deepening amid signs of a fourth wave of COVID-19. Photo by Moon Ho-nam munonam@

The Korea Association of Cinema Owners protested the government's basic quarantine rules on the 1st. This was due to the ban on food consumption inside theaters regardless of the social distancing level. The association argued, "The efforts we have made comprehensively to overcome COVID-19 have been rendered futile," adding, "It has made movie theaters be seen as places to avoid, crushing the hopes of those in the film industry who are going through the worst times."

Looking back over the past year, their frustration is understandable. Although confirmed COVID-19 cases have visited movie theaters, there have been no cases of transmission. This is thanks to proactive measures taken and concretized even before the government finalized quarantine rules. Examples include providing hand sanitizers, seating with one seat apart, wearing masks, and registering via electronic entry logs (QR codes).

One thing they have insisted on despite losses is allowing food consumption inside theaters. It accounts for about 20% of sales and could not be given up. In May last year, the Korean Film Council formed the ‘COVID-19 Response Film Industry Safety Management Committee’ and announced ‘social distancing in daily life’ guidelines, including a ban on food consumption. At that time, theaters openly showed discomfort, arguing that the measures would harm them while the government belatedly talked about supporting theaters.

The basic quarantine rules applied since the 5th have enforceability. Theaters that do not prohibit food consumption face a fine of 3 million KRW. A representative from Multiplex A criticized, "If the government had accurately understood the situation in theaters, it would not have uniformly designated the targets of sanctions as facilities where food consumption is the purpose and facilities other than food sales ancillary facilities."

A representative from Multiplex B also lamented, "During the past year when food consumption was allowed, no problems occurred in theaters," and said the authorities "are imposing sanctions with clumsy standards rather than supporting us." Last year, support from the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the Korean Film Council was limited to a 90% reduction in the film development fund levy and an additional 800 million KRW for quarantine expenses. Requests from theaters for rent support were not accepted because they are affiliated with large corporations.

There is one exception to the food consumption ban: PC bangs with ‘ㄷ’-shaped partitions. Authorities judged that the risk of infection is low even if people sit facing each other and eat while talking. In response, Lotte Cinema recently inquired with the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism whether food consumption would be allowed if partitions were installed between seats. They did not receive a clear answer.

A ministry official said, "This is a matter to be decided by the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters," but added, "Since it is not a common demand from the theater industry, there is some ambiguity." Another official said, "There was discussion about supporting it if the Central Disaster Headquarters allowed it," but "due to the high financial burden, whether it will materialize is uncertain."

In fact, CGV internally conducted mock experiments last year to consider installing partitions. A representative said, "The screen’s light reflects off the acrylic partitions, and unless special coating is applied, it can interfere with movie viewing," adding, "The cost is not trivial, and management is not easy, so we concluded that its effectiveness is limited." The government’s unscientific policy is only causing unnecessary worries.