'We will see a Korean superhero,’ Marvel says. December. 04, 2017 08:42. by Sun-Hee Jang sun10@donga.com.

‘The Walt Disney Company Korea recently held a meeting to establish measures to promote “Star Wars” in Korea. The Star Wars series has appealed to wide and various audiences around the world, but the movie has recorded sluggish box office sales in Korea.

World-renowned film production companies are mapping out strategies targeting Korea from the beginning as the Korean film market accounts for a large part of international sales. Attracting Korean audiences has become a priority now. Movies were filmed in Korea as the background, a K-pop music video was included in a movie, and Korea was often the first country to release movies.

According to the U.S. box office count, Korea has a lot of loyal Marvel fans. “Thor: Ragnarok” drew in 4.7 million viewers and raked in 35.29 million U.S. dollars in Korea, recording the third highest sales after China and the United Kingdom. “Avengers: Age of Ultron,” which drew in 10.49 million viewers in Korea in 2015, also racked up second biggest profits in Korea after China. Marvel’s editor in chief C.B. Cebulski visited Korea and said, “We might be able to see a ‘Korean superhero’ in the near future.”

There are increasing number of movies released earlier in Korea than the United States, as movie sales in Korea has become a point of interest. “Thor: Ragnarok” was released in Korea on October 25, more than a week earlier than North America, and “Avengers: Infinity War” will be released in Korea in April, a month before the U.S. release in May.