Korean Stars' Rise: Salmokji & Girigo Box Office Hits

The film "Salmokji" has solidified its dominance at the box office, and with the release of the new Netflix series "Girigo," the "Scary April" box office success is continuing. "Salmokji" has held the number one spot at the box office every single day since its release, and as of the 24th, it has surpassed its break-even point with a cumulative audience of 1,726,792. This is a case of breaking the "horror movies are for summer" formula and emerging as a savior for the off-season box office.

The box office success of "Salmokji" can be attributed to its strategy of targeting audiences in their teens and twenties. Released during the school semester in spring, it aimed for word-of-mouth promotion on social media, and actual CGV data showed that 52% of the audience was between 10 and 20 years old. Furthermore, the film's use of ghost stories about "Salmokji" that were featured on MBC's "Late Night Ghost Talk" and by horror YouTubers, along with the inclusion of advanced equipment used by horror experience YouTubers, is analyzed as a key factor in captivating the 10-20대 audience by realizing horror grounded in reality.

This horror craze is extending to OTT platforms, with Netflix's "Girigo," released on the 24th, also gaining attention for its similar subject matter and target audience as "Salmokji." "Girigo," Netflix's first Korean Young Adult (YA) horror series, tells the story of high school students who receive an app that grants wishes and are then confronted with a deadly curse. The series is expected to captivate 10-20대 viewers who enjoy horror that touches upon daily life by incorporating not just simple horror, but also emotions of school days like friendship, first love, envy, and jealousy, and by setting the source of the horror in the anxieties of teenagers burdened by grades, self-identity, and relationships.

"Girigo" is the first main directorial work by Director Park Yoon-seo, who was a co-director for "Moving." It features a large cast of rising new stars including Jeon So-young, Kang Min-a, Baek Sun-ho, Hyun Woo-seok, and Lee Hyo-je. The bold spatial direction that moves between real and cursed spaces, and the unfolding plot where new secrets of the app are revealed with each episode, are key points to watch. As this is a work presented by Netflix, which positions itself as a gateway for next-generation content talent, expectations for its genre completion are high.

A peculiar scene is unfolding as people eager to experience the real-life filming locations of the movie "Salmokji" are flocking to the secluded reservoir, causing the access road to be filled with vehicles late at night. This demonstrates that the MZ generation's enthusiasm for "dopamine" and "experiences" is driving the revival of horror content. "Salmokji," which uses the theme of water ghosts and reservoir ghost stories, surpassed its break-even point within seven days of its release and surpassed 1.6 million viewers by the morning of the 23rd.