The Perfect Cinema Experience

Pacific Rim! Or maybe I should say, Peoshipik Rim (퍼시픽 림). I’m a huge kaiju fan, so I made a point to see it on opening day here in Korea. Gone are the days when I had to wait months before a movie would come out on the other side of the world; Pacific Rim was actually released in Korea the day before the US.

I like to go to the movie theater from time to time here, and yesterday confirmed how smooth an experience it is in Korea. Yesterday, I:

  • Showed up 15 minutes before the start of a summer movie on opening day;
  • Paid $4.50 USD for my ticket (I used a coupon that’s available in restaurants around the cinema);
  • Got to reserve my seat by clicking an interactive map of the theater;
  • Saw exactly one trailer for a Korean blockbuster, and no ads, followed by the movie starting exactly on time;
  • Sat in a fairly comfortable chair, up to US and Canadian standards;
  • Shared the theater with silent, respectful people who never checked their cellphones;
  • Enjoyed digital images and sound with bone-rattling bass during the big fights.

I mean; wow, right?

How was the movie itself, you ask? I loved it! It suffered from the usual kaiju movie problem of “people talking” getting in the way of “monsters fighting”; but whenever the characters on screen shut up, things got fun and very loud. If there’s one thing I would have liked to see, it’s monsters actually on the loose and rampaging. But that’s a very specific criticism from a grumpy old Godzilla nerd.

Definitely a movie I’m glad I saw in theaters, more so considering the overall experience!

About Daniel Roy

Daniel is a writer, backpack foodie, slow traveler, and endurance runner. He is the author of the upcoming book, "The Way of Slow Travel: A Hands-On Guide to the Best Travel of Your Life."

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