CJ CGV

CJ CGV(Hangeul: CJ CGV(씨제이 씨지브이)㈜) is the largest multiplex cinema chain in South Korea, and also has branches in China, Vietnam and the United States. CGV takes its name from the first letter of the three words; Cultural, Great and Vital. Its chain includes 85 sites, 681 screens and 100 thousand seats in Korea.

CGV started as Theater Business Team inside CJ CheilJedang in 1995. CJ Golden Village was jointly established in 1996 by CJ Cheil Jedang of Korea, Orange Sky Golden Harvest of Hong Kong and Village Roadshow of Australia. However, now it is operated by CJ only as Golden Harvest and Village Roadshow have pulled out of the group. CGV opened the first multiplex in Gangbyeon in 1998. It merged CJ Golden Village and renamed the company to CJ CGV. In December 2004, it became the first theater chain listed on the Korea Stock Exchange.

CGV exceeded an aggregated total of 100 million viewers in 2004. It opened its first digital movies in 2006, SMART PLEX in 2008, 4D PLEX in 2009 and Cine City in 2011. In 2006, it opened eight sites in China and one in Los Angeles, and took over major cinema chain in Vietnam. 2013, CGV had 101 million visitors within one year. It is the fifth cinema company achieving this mark, joining Regal, AMC, Cinemark and Cinepolis.

CGV opened Korea’s first luxury theater, Gold Class, with sofa and service; along with Cine de Chef, the premium theater with fine dining in Apgujeong-dong, Seoul. This was followed by CGV Art Hall, a concert hall with 500 seats, in Yeongdeungpo-gu for concert, musical and broadcasting program in addition to movies.

Since 2009, with the construction of digital cinema, it started showing a variety contents such as baseball game, Japanese K-1, concert and opera shows. In 2010 FIFA World Cup, it was marketed as a location for cheering games with the most number of 2D/3D screens.