THEATER SHOWS ICY SEOUL-BEIJING TIES

[Anchor Lead]

A Korean film-exclusive theater has opened in Beijing, China's capital, to showcase South Korean movies that are gaining attention on the international stage. This is also part of self-measures due to the difficulty of screening Korean films in regular theaters because of the so-called anti-Korean rules. The opening ceremony took place Monday, but reflecting the recent cooling of bilateral relations, almost no Chinese officials attended the event.

[Pkg]

A theater exclusively playing Korean movies opened in downtown Beijing. In celebration of its opening, the 100-seat movie theater will screen 15 hit movies including "Hunt" and "Broker". The theater will play Korean movies twice a week on a regular schedule with a plan to host events that'll bring together Korean film industry figures and Chinese moviegoers.

[Soundbite] Park Ki-yong(Chair, Korean Film Council) : "Interest in Korean movies is heating up in China. So we decided that it would be good if there is a Korean movie theater to enable fans to watch Korean movies in a good environment."

In the past, two to three Korean movies were screened annually in China. However, "Oh! My Gran" was the only Korean movie to play in China since the Chinese government issued its anti-Korean rules seven years ago. Consequentially, Korean movies had not been approved by Chinese authorities to be screened. In this albeit small but new theater, fans can enjoy Korean movies without restrictions amid an atmosphere that allows moviegoers to be more intimate with Korean actors. However, just one Chinese film industry official attended the opening ceremony, highlighting the strained relations between Seoul and Beijing.

[Soundbite] Yoo Bok-geun(Economic minister of S. Korean embassy in China) : "We should restore the good sentiments between the two countries as soon as possible."

China's criticism against the South Korean government continued up until the last minute before President Yoon Suk Yeol's departure for the U.S. Conveying Beijing's stance, China's state media reported that South Korea's diplomacy will face constraints if it blindly follows the U.S. Affected by political factors, the stalled cultural exchanges are raising questions about the Chinese government's previous official denial of the anti-Korean rules.