`Buddies` fastest film reaches 2 mil. viewers

Kwak Kyung-Taek`s new film ``Buddies`` set a new box office record Monday by attracting 2 million viewers just 10 days after it opened.

The film lopped five days off the previous record set by director Park Chan-Wook`s ``Joint Security Area,`` according to its distributor.

``Buddies,`` which opened on Mar. 31, attracted 189,573 spectators over two days over last weekend in Seoul, bringing the total number of Seoulites that had seen the film to 716,703 and the number of viewers nationwide to 1,985,528. On Monday morning, the number of viewers exceeded the 2 million mark. ``Buddies`` is now being shown on a total of 193 screens in 112 theaters across the country, the largest number for any Korean movie.

``Buddies`` traces the lives of four high school classmates from 1970 to 1990. It has enjoyed explosive popularity not only among the young generation, but also from older moviegoers.