Ha Jeong-woo, Ha Ji-won Voted Most Popular Movie Stars

Ha Jeong-wooandHa Ji-wonhave been voted the most popular actor and actress in Korea in an email poll by the Chosun Ilbo and the nation's largest film ticketing site MaxMovie.

Some 25,784 people voted from April 18 to May 5. The two drew 10.1 and 13.7 percent of the votes respectively. ButSong Kang-hoandJeon Do-yeonwere chosen as the best -- as opposed to most popular -- actor and actress, with 18 and 23.3 percent.

Since the poll targeted online users of MaxMovie who had been to the cinema at least once last year, it probably reflects moviegoers' preferences more accurately than other surveys.

◆ Popularity vs. Acting Skills

Comparison with a similar survey in April last year reveals that people prefer actors with both acting skills and popular appeal.Ha Jeong-woosoared from eighth place in the popularity list in 2011 to the top this year after he appeared in a series of recent hit movies including"The Client", "Love Fiction", and "Nameless Gangster".

New entrants on the list arePark Hae-il(fourth with 8.7 percent),Kim Yoon-seok(sixth with 4 percent), andChoi Min-sik(eighth with 3.6 percent). All the three impressed moviegoers with their acting skills in box office hits such as "Arrow, The Ultimate Weapon","Punch", or "Nameless Gangster".

In contrast,Won BinandKang Dong-won, who ranked first and third respectively last year, fell to fifth and ninth place since they have not appeared in any films released this year.Jang Dong-gunand Lee Byeong-Heondid not make the list although they took the No. 6 and 10 spots last year.

Nine of the 10 most popular actors were also on the list of the most skilled actors, with the exception ofKang Dong-wonin the former and Sol Kyung-gu in the latter.

But among actresses, only six found their names on both of the lists.Moon So-ri(fifth with 6.1 percent),Yoon Yeo-jeong(sixth with 3.8 percent),Kim Hye-ja(ninth with 2.5 percent) and Kim Yoon-jin(10th with 2.5 percent) were voted as having good acting skills but not on the popularity list, suggesting that the popularity of actresses has less correlation with their acting skills than their male counterparts.

Among directors,Bong Joon-howas picked as the best with 19.8 percent.Im Kwon-taekslipped from the top last year to third place with 9.22 percent.Kang Woo-seokandKang Je-gyu, star directors in the 1990s and the early 2000s, ranked in the top 10 but were outperformed by Bong andPark Chan-wook(second place with 9.68 percent), who are becoming well known overseas.

Kang Je-gyusaw his ranking fall from third in 2011 to sixth (3.84 percent) this year after his film"My Way"tanked.Kang Woo-seokmanaged to hold on to fourth place but he garnered a mere 5.72 percent, down from last year's 14.1 percent.

This year's top 10 list has the same names on it as last year's, with the exception ofByeon Yeong-joo(eighth with 3.50 percent), but the order changed. "Once established, directors' recognition appears to last longer than actors", MaxMovie analyzed.

◆ Theater Attendance

When asked about their favorite ways of watching films, 82.5 percent said going to movie theaters, up from last year's 66.1 percent. Next came downloading movies on the Internet at 8.1 percent, down from 27.7 percent last year. A glut of 3D movies seems to attract people to cinemas.