SEOUL, March 6 (Korea Bizwire) – Since the release of the anime movie “The First Slam Dunk”, basketball has been gaining popularity among people of nearly all ages in South Korea.
The success of the movie has led to a steady increase in the number of basketball clubs at universities and the availability of basketball classes for the general public.
Notably, there has been a rise in cases where high school alumni, inspired by the movie, get together and reminisce about old memories by playing basketball instead of drinking alcohol.
A representative from a basketball training center in the Seoul metropolitan area stated that it had recently received more inquiries for adult lessons than youth lessons, with a 20 to 30 percent increase in members.
The popularity of the anime movie is not surprising, given the success of the popular comic book “Slam Dunk” in Korea during the 1990s.
“The First Slam Dunk” movie adaptation has been especially well-received by people in their 30s and 40s who experienced adolescence during the same era.
According to the Integrated Movie Theater Ticketing System, the film has already surpassed Makoto Shinkai’s “Your Name” (3.81 million people) in 2017, becoming the highest-grossing Japanese animated film ever released domestically with a cumulative attendance of 3.82 million people as of the morning of March 5.
As the movie continues to gain popularity, the surge of interest in basketball is expected to continue across Korea.
Image Credit: Yonhap / photonews@koreabizwire.com
