Travel around Seoul #6 "Chungmuro", Korean equivalent of Hollywood in the past

Chungmuro was the Korean equivalent of Hollywood for past few decades

Today, the film studios and production companies are gone, and the area is just another block filled with print shops in downtown Seoul.

Chungmuro Street runs east to west in downtown Seoul, starting from Post Tower in Chungmuro 1-ga and ending at Toegyero 5-ga. It also is the name of a district under the jurisdiction of Jung-gu, Seoul.

A long time ago, Chungmuro was a chinatown in Seoul ,in 1885, diplomat Yuan Shikai of the Ch'ing Dynasty purchased the neighboring area to turn it into a Chinese town while he was staying in Korea for a decade. Overseas Chinese Primary Schools, restaurants run by Chinese merchants, and Chinese shops remain there to illustrate such history. After the Chino-Japanese War, the Japanese drove out the Chinese and made it a Japanese settlement called Bonjeongtong. The area finally came to be called “Chungmuro” when the Korean government changed all the Japanese names of districts back to Korean after liberation from Japanese rule. Chung-mu is the posthumous name of Korea’s naval commander Lee Sun-shin who was born in Mareunnaegol town in the vicinity. In front of Myeongbo Art Hall, you can see the monument stone indicating the house of Commander Lee’s birth.

Movie Theaters Are Out; Printing &Publication shops are In

When asked what strikes your mind first when you think of Chungmuro, 10 out of 10 korean would say “a street of movies.” at least for old korean like me that is.
In the vicinity of Chungmuro Station (Line 3 and 4), you may encounter Daehan Cinema

70mm Film on Mega-size Screen Just Became a Memory



Daehan theater in old glory days

Daehan Cinema was designed by the 20th Century Fox Corporation and opened in 1955. It was once known as the best movie theater with the most seats in Asia. When Daehan Cinema was transformed into a multiplex with 11 screens in December 2001, the emotional feelings and overwhelming sounds of 70 mm film projected on to a mega-size screen have disappeared, but it remains a theater of memory in the minds of middle-aged people. They cannot forget the overwhelming feeling after standing in a long line to buy tickets and watching “Dr. Zhivago” or “Lawrence of Arabia” on the big screen. When tickets are sold out, they regretfully had to turn their steps to Geukdong Cinema across the street. When Daehan Cinema was refurbished into a multiplex, Geukdong Cinema felt even more outdated but continued to put on double feature films before it was finally shut down 3 years ago. Myeongbo Cinema and Skara Theatre have all disappeared from the map.

Local movies are said to have started blossoming in 1955 when the movie “Chunhyangjeon (The Chunhyang Story)” featured at Skara (or Sudo) Cinema became a mega hit. Chungmuro began to develop into a street of movies since then. As motion picture-related businesses had mushroomed along Chungmuro 3-ga, Chungmuro had its heyday. But since the 1980s when movie-related organizations relocated to the Gangnam area (southern part of Hanggang river in Seoul), things have changed.

In alleyways where movie-related businesses once were located, all kinds of printing offices which produce stickers, business cards, and envelopes now flourish. The clicking noise of printing machines now fills the air. Contrary to general knowledge, small scale printing offices, stretching from the off-street alleyway by the old building of Meail Economic Newspaper through Myeongbo Art Hall, have been there since Chungmuro attained prominence as a street of movies. Thanks to those printing offices crammed along the narrow alleyway, we can send our wedding invitations, use envelopes, or hang beautiful calendars on the walls of our living rooms at the beginning of every year. However humble the alleyway may be, we cannot help but be appreciative of them. The long line of printing offices stretches to Euljiro road along the narrow alleyway.

Film Developing Shops, Photo Studios Are Still Up and Running

While the side street behind Maeil Economic Newspaper is brimming with printing offices, the street behind Geukdong Building is overflowing with photo-related businesses such as film developing and camera shops along with cheap food stalls scattered throughout. Walking along the way, I was so glad to encounter the signboard of Photopia. It was such a famous slide film developing shop that there was no professional or amateur photographer who did not know about it. It deals with both slide and digital films now. If there is anyone who doesn’t know where to develop old slide films, Phototopia is the place to go.

Chungmuro Is Still “the Street of Movies”

Since Chungmuro definitely is the street of movies in our hearts, we cannot talk about Chungmuro without talking about movies. But its heydays exist only in our memories now. Nevertheless, it will not be easy for us to forget the nostalgia and attachment for the good old days when Chungmuro was Korea's Mecca of movies. In this regard, making a brand new street of movies in Gangnam area makes no sense even if major movie productions are nestled there, for the name “Chungmuro” itself is a history and symbol as far as movies are concerned.

Office of Jung-gu district is making efforts to recover the reputation of Chungmuro, it might be “today” rather than “old days.” Jung-gu’s flagship projects are: the 180 meter long road from Jingogae restaurant via Skara Cinema site through Myeongbo Art Hall refurbished into the “Street of Movies”; and restoration of “Star Dabang (tea house)” which served as a meeting place for the people working in the movie industries. Besides these efforts, the area hosted the 8th Chungmuro International Film Festival in Seoul, on September 27th,2013. A total of 230 movies produced in 45 nations was put on the screens of Daehan Cinema, CGV Myeongdong, Megabox Dongdaemun and others. All in all, we need to wait and see if Chungmuro succeeds to recover its glory as “the street of movies”.

Daehan cinema in the old days(left) and now(right)