The poster for "Beauty Inside" (NEW)

Upcoming South Korean romantic comedy “Beauty Inside” will hit local theaters in mid-August, a month later than originally scheduled.

The rom-com has delayed its premiere date from the initially announce July 2 to mid-August, joining the list of films and crowd-drawing events being postponed or canceled since the outbreak of the Middle East respiratory syndrome.

“The MERS outbreak is not the direct reason for the delaying of the film‘s release,” a representative with the film’s distributor said in a press release.

“As upcoming ‘Northern Limit Line’ has delayed its opening date due to the MERS scare, we decided to adjust our summer lineup in order to avoid overlapping the screening periods with the competing film.”

Starring actress Han Hyo-joo in the leading role, “Beauty Inside” follows a romance between Woo-jin and Yi-soo.

By Hong Hye-jin (honghyejin@heraldcorp.com)