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Asian cinema
LifestyleEntertainment

Watch a movie or go to the gym? Do both at South Korean cinemas – screens make way for climbing walls to entice post-pandemic crowd back

  • A South Korean cinema operator began installing climbing walls in 2021 at one of its multiplexes in Seoul after it saw a big drop in movie-goers mid-pandemic
  • Activities like bouldering and rock climbing are popular among young Koreans, and cinema-specific design elements make them ideal candidates for climbing gyms

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A climbing gym in Jongno, Seoul. A number of multiplexes in South Korea’s capital city now play host to climbing gyms. Photo: CJ CGV
Bloomberg

As cinemas around the world struggle to lure viewers back after the pandemic, one South Korean chain is testing out a new way to draw people away from streaming shows on their couches back to the big screen – by adding bouldering walls.

The country’s largest multiplex movie chain operator, CJ CGV, part of entertainment behemoth CJ Corp, started installing climbing walls in 2021 in one of its multiplexes, Jongno Piccadilly, in central Seoul.

It demolished two screens to make way for the walls, leaving six screens for films. The Peakers climbing gym opened its doors in January 2022.

Like cinema operators in other countries, CJ CGV saw attendance plummet during Covid-19, with the company turning unprofitable in 2020. The number of cinema-goers in South Korea plunged from 226 million in 2019 to 60 million in 2021, according to the Korean Film Council.

The Peakers climbing gym opened its doors in January 2022. Photo: CJ CGV
The Peakers climbing gym opened its doors in January 2022. Photo: CJ CGV

However, the company noticed at the same time that activities like bouldering and rock climbing were becoming increasingly popular among young Koreans, mirroring the trend in other cities around the world.

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