Crafty Contestants Set Movie Marathon Record
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By Kim Tae-jong
Staff Reporter
A couple of packs of gum, a gallon of black coffee, a needle and most importantly, guts. These are not typical necessities for a trip to the movies, but are indispensable when it comes to a movie Marathon contest.
The contest, entitled "2nd Challenge! Watch Films for a Long Time Without Sleep," drew the participation of 256 people who had strong determination and various strategies to break the world record of 70 hours and 1 minute in the "Guinness Book of World Records."
But the race, which started Friday, was stopped Monday afternoon after the screening of the 36th movie, "La Belle (Miin)," for health reasons, including elevated blood pressure and heart rate of the last two competitors.
Although they failed to break the world record, co-winners Noh Hyung-sik and Kim Soo-chun set a new Korean record of 66 hours and 41 minutes, breaking the previous record of 59 hours and 4 minutes.
"I wanted to break the world record and I felt I could do it," said Noh, a 28-year-old college student. "But the decision is right since my health is more important than the record."
Noh employed various tactics to stay awake. He recited Buddhist prayers, which he later thought sounded like lullabies, washed his face with wet towels, chewed gum and drank water.
Hosted by local cable channel Cinema TV, the annual contest started at 7 p.m. on Feb. 25 at the Scala Theater in Seoul. The participants were selected among over 10,845 people who applied through the Internet.
"I just participated in the event simply to see as many local films in one place as possible," said Kim, a television script writer who won the first prize of a free trip to the 2005 Cannes Film Festival with Noh. "At first I didn't even hope to win any prize or break the world record."
As a big fan of movies, Kim has been to almost every international film festival in the country and has experience watching films all day and night without sleep.
"I just tried to enjoy and concentrate on the movies, which made me feel awake. For me, the most difficult part was that I wasn't allowed to go to the bathroom when I wanted to," Kim said.
Although the main rule may sound simple _ "You can't close your eyes for more than five seconds," there were other rules that made it hard for the participants to win the race.
The competitors were watched by over 30 staff members who also videotaped the proceedings. They were not allowed to speak, go to the restroom or eat food during a screening. The participants were allowed a five-minute break between movies but were only allowed to use the restroom or eat during the 15-minute breaks given after every three movies.
"As the rules were strongly enforced, some people tried a few tricks," said Kim Ki-kang, staff member of the event. "Most of them were disqualified."
Some people used needles to poke their thigh whenever they were on the verge of falling asleep and others tried to use an empty bottle to urinate into during the five-minute break. There were also some people who simply argued that they didn't close their eyes although video footage proved them wrong.
The event, most importantly, was meant to be a fun activity for moviegoers. And it seems that the movie-lovers who participated had an interesting and memorable experience. The contestants were various, including a transgender model, a North Korean defector and a middle school student with his father.
"I watched a lot of local movies when I was in hospital after my sex change operation," said transgender model Park Yu-ri. "Movies were a good friend and I became a big fan of local movies."
To pay tribute to popular actress Lee Eun-ju, who recently passed away, the event screened three of her movies at the beginning of the contest.
The most difficult local movie to watch turned out to be "A Smile (Miso)," as 28 competitors fell asleep when it was screened Saturday morning.
Staff Reporter
A couple of packs of gum, a gallon of black coffee, a needle and most importantly, guts. These are not typical necessities for a trip to the movies, but are indispensable when it comes to a movie Marathon contest.
The contest, entitled "2nd Challenge! Watch Films for a Long Time Without Sleep," drew the participation of 256 people who had strong determination and various strategies to break the world record of 70 hours and 1 minute in the "Guinness Book of World Records."
But the race, which started Friday, was stopped Monday afternoon after the screening of the 36th movie, "La Belle (Miin)," for health reasons, including elevated blood pressure and heart rate of the last two competitors.
Although they failed to break the world record, co-winners Noh Hyung-sik and Kim Soo-chun set a new Korean record of 66 hours and 41 minutes, breaking the previous record of 59 hours and 4 minutes.
"I wanted to break the world record and I felt I could do it," said Noh, a 28-year-old college student. "But the decision is right since my health is more important than the record."
Noh employed various tactics to stay awake. He recited Buddhist prayers, which he later thought sounded like lullabies, washed his face with wet towels, chewed gum and drank water.
Hosted by local cable channel Cinema TV, the annual contest started at 7 p.m. on Feb. 25 at the Scala Theater in Seoul. The participants were selected among over 10,845 people who applied through the Internet.
"I just participated in the event simply to see as many local films in one place as possible," said Kim, a television script writer who won the first prize of a free trip to the 2005 Cannes Film Festival with Noh. "At first I didn't even hope to win any prize or break the world record."
As a big fan of movies, Kim has been to almost every international film festival in the country and has experience watching films all day and night without sleep.
"I just tried to enjoy and concentrate on the movies, which made me feel awake. For me, the most difficult part was that I wasn't allowed to go to the bathroom when I wanted to," Kim said.
Although the main rule may sound simple _ "You can't close your eyes for more than five seconds," there were other rules that made it hard for the participants to win the race.
The competitors were watched by over 30 staff members who also videotaped the proceedings. They were not allowed to speak, go to the restroom or eat food during a screening. The participants were allowed a five-minute break between movies but were only allowed to use the restroom or eat during the 15-minute breaks given after every three movies.
"As the rules were strongly enforced, some people tried a few tricks," said Kim Ki-kang, staff member of the event. "Most of them were disqualified."
Some people used needles to poke their thigh whenever they were on the verge of falling asleep and others tried to use an empty bottle to urinate into during the five-minute break. There were also some people who simply argued that they didn't close their eyes although video footage proved them wrong.
The event, most importantly, was meant to be a fun activity for moviegoers. And it seems that the movie-lovers who participated had an interesting and memorable experience. The contestants were various, including a transgender model, a North Korean defector and a middle school student with his father.
"I watched a lot of local movies when I was in hospital after my sex change operation," said transgender model Park Yu-ri. "Movies were a good friend and I became a big fan of local movies."
To pay tribute to popular actress Lee Eun-ju, who recently passed away, the event screened three of her movies at the beginning of the contest.
The most difficult local movie to watch turned out to be "A Smile (Miso)," as 28 competitors fell asleep when it was screened Saturday morning.
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