DVDs are close to fully replacing VHS in South Korea, and are both easy and, often, quite cheap to buy and rent, with video CDs being even cheaper. Illegal bootleg DVDs of current movies are also plentiful and cheap, and not very difficult to find either. However, Korean DVDs have different region codes from those of other countries so you'll need either a Korean DVD player or a modified, region-free one.

[edit] Region codes

All legal Korean DVDs are encoded as Region 3. This means that your DVD player must be able to play Region 3 DVDs; if it can't, you are out of luck. Many foreigners purchase region-free DVD players in Yongsan and Songtan, or rely on bootleg DVDs or video CDs. If you want to watch the movies on your computers, the freeware VideoLAN program will effectively make your computer a region-free DVD player.

[edit] Buying cheap DVDs

If you don't care about the legality of the products, you can dirt cheap DVDs. Just walking around the streets of Seoul you will run into plenty of stands selling DVDs of dubious legality. On the Sinjang Shopping Mall in front of Osan Air Base, bootlegs of currently playing Hollywood movies are sold openly.

Some of the smaller DVD stores, like those in subway stations, often have a seemingly random assortment of movies at 3 for 10,000 won. The selection in this case is basically catch as catch can.

[edit] DVD bangs

A DVD bang is a business that allows you to go in, pick out a movie, and watch it in a private room with a comfy leather couch and a big screen. They're popular places for dates, of course.