According to Statista, South Korean entertainment and media industry have been contributing 3.1 up to 3.28 Billion dollars of revenue since 2015, which is a considerable amount. However, due to COVID-19, the industry has been dramatically affected. Moviegoers are now fearing to go to cinemas, thinking they might get infected with the virus.
The movie industry's government agency would like to ensure that it is safe to go to theaters and even at filming locations. The government agency promises to make preventive protocols to help the industry from the spread of the virus.
Due to alleviated social distancing regulations last week, The Korean Film Council announced on May 13 that they would have a committee of health professionals and some film industry members to establish new guidelines following the country's ordinance.
Also, South Korea's film industry governing committee assured everyone that they would do their best to maintain local theaters and filming sites safe and secured from potential exposure to coronavirus.
In April this year, the monthly number of viewers reached only 972,000, which was way lower than the 1,000,000 entries. As part of emergency plans to save the sector, the government planned to administer $13.8 million into the film industry.
Kim Hyae-Joon, a committee member of KOFIC, stated that their goal is to help people and protect themselves from virus infection. They also aim to launch a responsive system to fend off mass infection if a possible patient enters the cinema.
The following are the basic precautionary guidelines to prevent the spread of the coronavirus: at the entrances, moviegoers should have their temperatures checked; the seat distance should be following the social distancing protocol; everyone should wear masks.
Committee experts want to stress the importance of wearing masks at all times, and they should not drink or eat while inside the cinemas for it to be safe from contracting the infection.
After every movie, cinema operators will have to disinfect the place and have proper ventilation as well. Social distancing will be strictly followed while coming in and going out of the cinema.
Furthermore, Tak Sang-woo, a member of the Institute of Health, said that heating and air-conditioning systems might vary from one cinema to another. However, he noted that there is a low chance that moviegoers will get infected since the cinemas are spacious.
On the other hand, employees of the cinema should follow the same protocol and comply with the quarantine rules. They should wash their hands regularly, and they should take a day off when they have cough or fever.
Ongoing indoor and outdoor shootings can go on as long as the participants strictly follow the rules. There should be a supervisor who will look after the health of the actors and actresses as well as the rest of the staff. A self-check health sheet will also be provided.
Should anybody will show symptoms of the virus, they should be quarantined and given suspension allowance. However, due to recent events that occurred from Itaewon clubs and bars, the KOFIC faces another challenge, which in turn increased vigilance against the virus.
