Nowadays, walking down the street, you may hear 1990’s songs. Some people are unfamiliar with 20th century’s songs. For all that, these are becoming popular among the general public. Some 1990’s songs are ranked high on various music charts. The reason that 1990’s singers and songs became popular again is a popular MBC talent show, Muhan Dojeon’s new project ‘Totoga’, which features performances of 1990’s singers televised across the nation. Using retro themes spread in society such as movies, dramas, fashion and marketing as ‘Retro style’, it received a positive response among the general public.
 

Retro themes in media market
  Retro themes are distinctly confirmed in media markets. Since a few years ago, retro themes were frequently used in movies and dramas. Examples of popular movies that are set in the 1950~1980’s are the recently released film, ‘Ode to My Father’, ‘Heo Sam-quan’, and ‘C’est Si Bon’. In addition, ‘Bet on My Disco’, ‘Pumheang Zero’ and ‘Sunny’ also were set in the 1950~1980’s.
  In dramas, there is the ‘Respond’ series that is televised on TVN. The ‘Respond’ series initially televised as ‘Respond 1997’ in 2012. After the hit of ‘Respond 1997’, the production company announced that they would make a new ‘Respond’ series, ‘Respond 1988’. As soon as media that featured retro themes became loved by consumers, using retro themes was established as a new media trend.

Not retro movies but past movies
  Retro movies are being produced by many production companies now. On the other hand, how do people react to the real classic films that were really made in previous eras and not set in that period time? Today, people can download classic films on the internet. However, it’s hard to find theaters that play classic films. The reason is that movie theaters avoid classic movies. Classic movies are unpopular nowadays, so they can’t gather many people. Therefore, most theaters play the latest movies. There are 9 theaters that play classic films in the nation, and most are located in the national capital region. There is one theater located in the provinces: Dae-gu. A CBT reporter covered ‘Myeong-hwa Theater’, which is located in Ansan, Gyeonggi-do.


 

  The theaters that play classic films are called silver theaters because most consumers that visit these theaters are in the silver generation(over 55 years old). Silver theaters operate on a small scale, so they have only 2 or 3 screens. However, these keep an arranged movie schedule just like other movie theaters. Silver theaters don’t have particular web pages, but they post movie schedules on Naver blogs. Consumers can see movie schedules that they want through the blogs. In addition, the theaters give consideration about price. If consumers are over 55 years old, they can buy movie tickets at 2,000 won. Although silver theaters have more inconvenience than other theaters, many silver generations constantly visit because of scarcity value. Kim Wich-hwan, who is a representative of Myeong-hwa Theater, said, “Recently, consumers who visit our theater increased and I think more consumers will visit.”
  We can say the media is a bridge that connects past and present. Songs and landscapes that are included in media remind viewers of their memories. Even if the memory wasn’t experienced directly, viewers indirectly experience and share the memory. Does it correspond to the reason the public is extremely excited about retro themes? How about going to a silver theater with your parents and sharing their memories this weekend?
 

By Oh Ah-ra
ar34@cbnu.ac.kr