First movie theater in Korea
Ae Kwan Theater (Korean: ) is a movie theater in Incheon, South Korea. It is believed to be the oldest movie theater in Korea, having been founded in 1895. It is believed to predate what was widely considered to be the first movie theater, Dansungsa, which was founded in 1907.
Ae Kwan is still in operation, although Dansungsa has since ceased. It is now owned by the AE KWAN Theater Co., Ltd.
The theater formerly went by the names Hyŏmnyulsa and Ch'uk'angsa.
History.
According to a book () from Choe Seong-yeon, the theater was first founded in 1895, during the First Sino-Japanese War, as Hyŏmnyulsa (; ; , not to be confused with Hyŏmnyulsa, which has a different final Hanja character). In 1912, it changed its name to Ch'uk'angsa (; ; ). In 1921, it again changed its name to Ae Kwan (; ; ), and renovated on October 10, 1927.