Animated film 'Demon Slayer' debuts in S.Korea

The Japanese blockbuster animation film "Kimetsu no Yaiba," or "Demon Slayer," has been released in South Korea.

Moviegoers flocked to a theater in Seoul on Wednesday, some of them wearing costumes of the movie's characters.

The movie is the biggest box office hit of all time in Japan, raking in 36.5 billion yen, or more than 350 million dollars.

In South Korea, its release was originally scheduled for last year but was delayed due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Demon Slayer proved popular among South Koreans, as it topped the list of advance ticket sales in the country.

A man in his 20s said he is a big fan of the anime series so he came to watch it on the first day. He said he loves the story, action scenes and music.

In 2019, Japan tightened its controls on exports of key high-tech materials to South Korea, triggering a campaign of boycotting Japanese products in the country. Japanese movies also became the targets of the boycott.

Some of the visitors to the theater said they just wanted to enjoy culture for culture's sake, while acknowledging the importance of the boycott campaign. Others said they did not think about the boycott as they love anime.