Gyeonggi Province's 'Cinema on Wheels' Gains Popularity

Tandong 1-ri, Gwanin-myeon, Pocheon, Gyeonggi Province. It's a remote area where residents must drive for nearly an hour to visit a movie theater.

The Gyeonggi Film Commission screened the film "Barefoot Ki-bong" at the Tandong 1-ri community center on the 13th. Among roughly 40 elderly residents in their 70s and 80s who watched the film, most were experiencing a movie theater for the first time.

Gyeonggi Province's "Cinema on Wheels" initiative, aimed at bridging the cultural gap between regions, is gaining traction.

The Gyeonggi Film Commission announced that since January, it has been visiting community children's centers and village halls in Yeoncheon, Pocheon, Dongducheon, Yangju, and Paju over a two-month period, screening films and animations.

The Gyeonggi Film Commission primarily selected culturally underserved areas within the province that lack even basic movie theaters as destinations for the "Cinema on Wheels" program.

At community children's centers where low-income children study throughout their school breaks, Korean short-form animated works such as Director Bong Joon-ho's "The Host" and "Pumpkin Jeon" are particularly popular.

Officials from the Gyeonggi Film Commission explained that residents who have experienced films consistently express interest in encore screenings.

During the summer vacation season, the Gyeonggi Film Commission plans to host outdoor film screenings called "Paradise Screen" at locations such as Yongmun Mountain Outdoor Performance Hall in Yangpyeong and Ilsan Lake Park to invigorate tourism.

An official from the Gyeonggi Film Commission stated, "We designed the film screening program to serve residents in rural and mountainous areas of the province who have limited access to visual culture," adding that it "will help resolve regional imbalances in cultural development."