Kulture3

In Korea, there are many great film directors besides Park Chan-wook and Bong Joon-ho. One of them is director Lee Chang-dong, and this time I’d like to introduce one of his films.  1. The Plot  Jongsu, an aspiring writer, works as a delivery driver and by chance meets Haemi, a childhood classmate from his hometown. Haemi leaves for Africa, entrusting Jongsu with taking care of his cat before departing. And on the day he returns, Jongsu meets a man named Ben, who has come back with Haemi. They continue a mysterious meeting, and one day when Haemi goes missing, Jongsu begins to suspect Ben and starts following him around.  2.  The Cast and Director Yoo Ah-in, famous for the film Veteran, played Jong-su; Jeon Jong-seo, then a newcomer, played Haemi; and Steve Yeun, known for The Walking Dead and Angry Birds, gave a powerful performance as Ben.  Director Lee Chang-dong has a record of winning awards at the Venice Film Festival for the film Oasis. ...

If you want to see Korea’s most renowned actors in one film, I recommend the movie "The Thieves." It might be good to think of it as the Korean version of Ocean’s Eleven. Although the runtime is a bit long, I think it’s a work that is definitely worth watching.  1. The Plot  It is a crime thriller about ten professional thieves from Korea and China who struggle to steal a diamond called “Tears of the Sun,” which is in Macau’s Casino.  2. The Cast and Director  Among the main thieves in the film, Macau Park was played by actor Kim Yoon-seok; Pepsy, the safecracker, was played by Kim Hye-soo, one of South Korea’s finest actresses; Lee Jung-jae as Popeye; Jun Ji-hyun as Yenicole; Kim Soo-hyun as Zampano; Kim Hae-sook, the nation’s beloved mother, as the chewed gum; Oh Dal-su as Andrew; and the other Chinese thieves were passionately portrayed by Im Dal-hwa, Chinese Sang, and Lee Sin-je. I think it might be one of the most outstanding films in the Korean film industr...

If there was an actor I’ve been most interested in lately, it would be actor Um Tae-goo. His real personality is extremely timid and introverted, but the way he appears in the work is very different. The Netflix movie Night in Paradise that I’m introducing this time is also one of them.  1. The Plot Park Tae-gu, the second-in-command of a ruthless organization, eliminates the leader of his rival group, the Bukseong faction, and becomes hunted by them. The film depicts what happens when he meets Jae-yeon, who is living with only a limited time left in his life.  2. The Cast and director Actor Um Tae-goo played Park Tae-gu, actor Jeon Yeo-bin played Jae-yeon, and actor Cha Seung-won played Mai Sa. Also, director Park Hoon-jung, famous for the film The Witch, directed it.  His film New World is also a movie worth recommending.  3. What to watch for It’s fun to see how actor Um Tae-goo, who is known for his usually extremely introverted personality, portrays the organiza...

A new interesting movie was updated on Netflix, so I clicked on it right away. It’s called “Hyumint,” and it refers to information activities involving people.  1. The Plot  While investigating international crimes in Southeast Asia, a section chief of the National Intelligence Service is led to Vladivostok by the information she left behind, through the sacrifice of his informant. Meanwhile, Park Geon, dispatched from North Korea to investigate a border-area disappearance case unfolding in Vladivostok, meets his former lover Chae Sun-hwa there, only to find that she had already become an informant for a section chief of the National Intelligence Service. Park Geon discovers that Hwang Chi-seong, the North Korean consul in Vladivostok, is behind the disappearance, and that Hwang already knows everything and is selling Chae Seon-hwa to the Russian gang, marking the beginning of the desperate struggle between Section Chief Jo and Park Geon to save her.  2. The Cast and...

The 2000s can also be called a renaissance period for Korean cinema, and among them, I’d like to introduce the movie "Welcome to Dongmakgol," which I enjoyed watching in the theater.  1. The Plot  In 1950, when a U.S. fighter plane crashed in a place called Dongmakgol in Gangwon Province, Yeo-il meets a United Nations soldier named Smith. On his way to inform them of this, he encounters the North Korean People’s Army, and they too gather at Dongmakgol. Also, as the South Korean soldiers, including Pyo Hyun-cheol and Moon Sang-sang, who have gone astray from the military forces, gather at the village chief’s house in Dongmakgol, their precarious and dangerous cohabitation begins.  2. The Cast and Director Yeo Il, who can be called the film’s most iconic mascot, was played by Kang Hye-jung, the actress famous for Oldboy. Steve Tashler played Neil Smith of the Allied forces, and Shin Ha-kyun played Pyo Hyo-cheol of the South Korean army. Seo Jae-kyung, now no longer active i...

If I were to talk about Bong Joon-ho’s hit films before Parasite, I’d like to recommend Mother as well, but I’d rather recommend Memories of Murder. Because it is sometimes based on true events, and because it is fun to deduce the culprit throughout the film.  1. The Plot  In 1986, a horrific rape and murder takes place in Gyeonggi Province. Two months after this incident, another murder occurs.  Led by Captain Gu Hee-bong and Detective Park Doo-man, they keep investigating local thugs as suspects, but there is no progress in the investigation. Seo Tae-yoon, who voluntarily came from Seoul, searches for a culprit based on data, but there is little advancement in the investigation. One day, he discovers that the victims are women wearing red on a rainy day and starts a sting operation, but when another murder occurs the next day, it remains unsolved.  2. The Cast and Director  Byun Hoe-bong played Captain Gu Hee-bong, the beloved actor Song Kang-ho as Detective P...

After this film, a famous line became popular in Korea. It’s the line, “Do I even have the face to become king?” It was a line by actor Lee Jung-jae, and I’d like to review the movie "The Face Reader," which is still being talked about today.  1. The Plot  A physiognomist who can see through a person’s face. One day, while living in seclusion in the mountains with his brother-in-law Paengheon and his son Jin-hyeong, he is invited by the gisaeng Yeonhong to go to Hanyang, the capital of Joseon, and soon after he becomes known as a famous physiognomist in Hanyang.  Eventually, he is chosen by the king’s right-hand man and meets Grand Prince Suyang, who is plotting rebellion against Joseon, and he seeks to change the fate of the dynasty.  2. The Cast and Director  The role of Naegyeong, the physiognomist, was played by Song Kang-ho, famous for the film Memories of Murder. Paengheon, the brother-in-law, was played by Jo Jung-suk, known for the role of Napdeuk. Jin-h...