Korean cinema recorded an 82.5% market share in February, setting a new monthly record on the back of a record-breaking performance by Korean War film Taegukgi.

According to a report by investment/distribution company IM Pictures, the Kang Je-gyu-directed Taegukgi amassed a 52% share of the market all by itself, while Cinema Service's Silmido contributed a further 16%. Other films that performed strongly included the Warner Bros release Something's Gotta Give with 6% and Cinema Service's Too Beautiful To Lie with 5%.

The report covers Seoul only, where 4.6m tickets were sold in the course of the month. In January, local films took 64.5% of a record 5m admissions. Overall, the first two months of the year are up 30.3% on 2003.

Previous top market shares for local cinema were November 2001 (73.1%), October 2003 (71.2%), October 2001 (70.5%) and April 2001 (70.0%).

Although the success of Taegukgi ($53m box-office to date) and the December 24 release Silmido ($60m to date) has cheered the local industry, there is increasing concern being voiced over a lack of diversity at cinemas.

At its height, Taegukgi was screening on 513 of the nation's 1,271 screens, pushing out many smaller titles that had put up respectable screen averages.