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"I just want to let the people know how many happy moments this kind of culture can bring us," Kim said, wiping away tears with tissues. Seoul now has no one-screen cinemas, Kim said, and fewer than 10 such old-style theaters are thought to be operating throughout South Korea. In the 1980s, the theater was a hot spot for Hong Kong movies, with top stars such as Leslie Cheung and Chow Yun-fat visiting on opening night and young moviegoers lining up to buy tickets. But its popularity sharply declined when modern multiplex theaters came to South Korea in the 1990s, forcing it to screen previews or older films before focusing on classic movies like "Ben-Hur," "Gone With the Wind" and "Roman Holiday." "If we continued to maintain that theater, it would have been a historic site for Seoul," showing off the capital city's past landscape, culture commentator Ha Jae-keun said. "We need a policy to protect symbolic places in Seoul." Kim's company has been operating at a loss because of low-priced tickets that cost only 2,000 won ($1.80), nearly one-fourth of what regular movie tickets cost. Still, she said she was satisfied that she had done something to help senior citizens. "One day, an old couple, both suffering from Alzheimer's disease, came here. ... When I saw them walking hand-in-hand out of the theater, I realized I was doing the right thing," Kim said. "They looked so happy."
Seo Ji-min, a singer who made her debut at the theater in 1977 when it also hosted daily singing and dancing performances, was among several people who wept when Kim shaved her head. "Why are they getting rid of this kind of historic place?" Seo asked. "I feel like there is a huge void in my heart, and I'm in a daze now."
[Associated
Press;
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