Crowds gathered on the 12th to see director Jang Hang-jun of the film "The King's Warden," which surpassed 12 million cumulative moviegoers.
Starting around 12 p.m. on the 12th, director Jang held a coffee truck event at the plaza in front of the Korea Press Center in Jung-gu, Seoul. Jang handed out about 200 cups of coffee he had prepared and took commemorative photos with fans.
Jang had initially pledged to change his name and get plastic surgery if the film reached 10 million viewers, but as the so-called "Wangsanam" craze took off, he decided to replace that with a coffee truck event.
From around 9 a.m. that day, fans lined up to see Jang. One fan held a hand sign that read, "I came from Gwangju to drink coffee." Even nearby office workers who had stepped out for lunch flocked to see Jang, creating a bustling scene.
Seeing more people than expected, Jang said, "What is going on, thank you." He added, "I'm spending days that feel like a dream thanks to the great love," and said, "I hope our work becomes an opportunity for Korean cinema to come alive."
The King's Warden, directed by Jang, depicts the deposed Danjong, Yi Hong-wi (played by Park Ji-hoon), spending the last period of his life in exile in Yeongwol-gun, Gangwon, as he connects with villagers including village head Eom Heung-do (played by Yoo Hae-jin).
As of the previous day, it surpassed 12 million cumulative moviegoers, beating "Exhuma (11,914,869)" to rank 20th on the all-time box office chart.