Movie ticket discounts are back. Here's how to grab one

For the second time this year, Korea is rolling out movie-ticket discount coupons to draw audiences back to theaters.

The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism said Monday that the coupons, each worth 6,000 won ($3.90) off a ticket, will become available at 10 a.m. Wednesday. The first round went out in May, and this week's release adds another 2.05 million into circulation.

If you have an online account with one of the country's four major multiplex chains — CGV, Lotte Cinema, Megabox or Cine Q — two coupons will show up automatically in your account, ready to apply when you book a ticket.

Anyone who can register for a membership account can use the coupons, including foreign residents. At venues outside the four multiplex chains, the discount is applied on the spot at the ticket booth.

The coupons can be used in conjunction with other discounts, like early-bird screenings and card promotions. They also stack with Culture Day, the twice-monthly initiative that brings ticket prices at CGV, Lotte Cinema and Megabox down to 10,000 won for screenings between 5 and 9 p.m. on the second and last Wednesday of the month.

Stack a coupon on top of that, and a ticket can run as low as 4,000 won.

The coupons are handed out on a first-come, first-served basis. To see which theaters are taking part — and which still have coupons left — check the Korean Film Council's website.

The program is funded by a 27.1 billion-won supplementary budget the government approved earlier in the year to prop up a film business that has been slow to bring audiences back to prepandemic levels.

Ministry officials say the first round gave ticket sales a lift, with box office revenue up 47.9 percent in the week after the May launch, to 15.9 billion won.