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Bae Doo Na's recently-released Korean movie Next Sohee attracts 40,000 cinemagoers within five days of release.
According to the Korea Film Promotion Committee, on the morning of today (13th), Next Sohee had a cumulative audience of 39,426 on the 5th day of release. If the real-time reservation rate is taken into consideration, the movie will exceed 40,000 viewers today (February 13).
The Bae Doo Na starrer is directed by July Jung, who is also the movie's screenwriter. Next Sohee is July Jung's first movie since her 2014 film A Girl at My Door (also starring Bae Doo Na).
Next Sohee is a story of a high school girl So Hee (Kim Shi Eun), who goes on to train in a call centre, but faces workplace abuse and extreme stress. She then mysteriously dies, and Detective Yoo Jin (Bae Doo Na) decides to investigate the matter.
Reportedly, the movie is said to have been inspired by a real-life incident in which a young student faced exploitation and abuse at a call center during her training program.
The crime drama is mostly popular among audiences of older age groups, at least in South Korea. According to sources, 59% of the audience consists of male viewers, while 41% are female viewers. Moreover, 63% of moviegoers belong to the age groups of the 30s and 40s, while 20% of audiences are in their 20s.
Next Sohee was first screened at Espace Miramar in Cannes on May 25. And since its screening at various international film festivals, the movie has won numerous awards including the Cheval Noir Award for Best Director and Best Asian Feature silver award in the category of Audience Award (Fantasia International Film Festival), Special Jury Award (Tokyo Filmex), and UPJV Reference Award (42nd France Amiens International Film Festival), among others.
