Kim Hye-yoon's 'Salmokji' becomes No. 1 horror movie in 23 years

The movie 'Salmokji', starring Kim Hye-yoon, has rewritten the box office records for Korean horror films. Even after surpassing 'A Tale of Two Sisters', which had held the top spot for 23 years, the audience count maintained a level in the 3 million range, and this momentum continued with a first-place finish in the Plusstar weekly vote during the second week of June.

The first Korean horror film to change the #1 spot in 23 years

The reason for 'Salmokji's' achievement is notable not just because a single horror film did well. With a cumulative audience of over 3.15 million, it surpassed the record of 3.14 million set by the 2003 release 'A Tale of Two Sisters' for the highest domestic horror film audience. It also overtook the record of 2.68 million held by 'Gonjiam'. Considering that there are not many cases where a Korean horror film has exceeded 3 million viewers in theaters, this success is closer to a result that changed the perceived temperature of the genre itself.

By the end of May, the cumulative audience was reported to be in the 3.23 million range. This means that the audience did not taper off even after the initial buzz subsided. While horror films often lose momentum quickly after the initial surge of fans and curious viewers, 'Salmokji' showed staying power as word-of-mouth spread. It demonstrated that the horror genre can once again be a reason to visit the theater.

Road view and a reservoir: Reimagining familiar horror

'Salmokji' tells the story of a filming crew heading to a reservoir following an unidentified figure captured on a road view. Rather than a work that only puts forward unfamiliar ghost stories, it interweaves a map service that anyone has used at least once with a reservoir that feels like a real space. Therefore, the starting point of the horror is not far away. The structure, where a scene seen on a mobile phone screen leads directly to a real waterside, gripped the audience.

This direction is clear even in the official third trailer. Repeated shots of dark watersides, flashlights, shaking cameras, and black water surfaces make the audience feel more about what they haven't seen yet rather than what they have seen. While jump scares are used, the strength of the film lies in making the entire space look like a place that is difficult to escape, rather than just a single sound. This point connects with the experiential horror that audiences responded to again after 'Gonjiam'.

Why this success is significant for Kim Hye-yoon

Kim Hye-yoon has been remembered as an actress who has shown strength in youth romances and school dramas. Through 'Extraordinary You' and 'Lovely Runner', she imprinted her bright and delicate face on the public, and she also left a strong impression as an actress accustomed to rapidly changing the tempo of emotions. 'Salmokji' did not erase that image but rather pulled it in a different direction. What is important in a horror film is not just scenes of long crying or big scares. It requires the persuasiveness to make the audience follow the character's eyes into an uneasy space.

This success, therefore, remains a quite distinct point in Kim Hye-yoon's filmography. She moved the emotional lines of romance into the tension of a theatrical horror, and the audience did not perceive that transition as merely strange. When an actor changes genres, the first thing to be confirmed is the reaction of general audiences rather than the loyalty of the fandom. The 3 million viewers of 'Salmokji' mean that she passed that test in numbers.

First place in fan voting is the second reaction following the box office success

In the Plusstar weekly vote held from June 8 to 14, Kim Hye-yoon earned 1,537,980 Silver Points, taking first place in the actor category and first place overall across all categories. There was already a trend of her taking first place in all categories the previous week with 1,516,090 Silver Points, and this result is meaningful in that fan activity continued following the movie's success, rather than being a one-off support.

Fan voting is different in nature from the box office. If the number of viewers is the choice of the public, the voting score shows how quickly the fandom moves. In Kim Hye-yoon's case, these two indicators overlapped at the same time. While gaining new viewers in theaters, the existing fandom gathered strength again in online support. An actor who experiences these two flows simultaneously has a wider range of options when choosing their next work. This is because they gain one more basis to be persuasive between romance, genre films, and theatrical movies.

What the next work must confirm is breadth rather than speed

The observation point after 'Salmokji' is not whether Kim Hye-yoon will choose horror again. More important is how she will stably continue the expanded expectations from this success in her next work. The record of being the number one horror film is a strong single blow, but an actor's career becomes clearer with the next choice. If she can bring together the strengths of bright romance and the tension gained from genre films, Kim Hye-yoon's name will move closer to being an actress who drives the work rather than being tied to a specific image.

The next points to be confirmed immediately are the final audience count of 'Salmokji' and Kim Hye-yoon's next project. The record that changed after 23 years has already been made, and the fandom's reaction has also been confirmed in numbers. Now, only one question remains: with what new face will Kim Hye-yoon continue this achievement?