{"id":3342,"date":"2015-08-15T00:50:09","date_gmt":"2015-08-15T00:50:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/korean\/?p=3342"},"modified":"2017-12-04T07:14:41","modified_gmt":"2017-12-04T12:14:41","slug":"korean-film-essentials-a-guide-pt-1","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/korean\/korean-film-essentials-a-guide-pt-1\/","title":{"rendered":"Korean Film Essentials: A Guide Pt. 1"},"content":{"rendered":"

A trio of Koreans, essential to the Korean film industry,\u00a0were the first\u00a0to make a splash with financial support from a major Hollywood film studio in 2010.\u00a0 In their first film together since, The Chaser<\/em>\u00a0(\ucd94\uaca9\uc790,<\/strong> 2008), Director Na Hong-jin (\ub098\ud64d\uc9c4), actors Kim Yoon-seok (\uae40\uc724\uc139) and Ha Jeong-woo (\ud558\uc815\uc6b0) reunited in\u00a0The Yellow Sea<\/em>\u00a0(\ud669\ud574).\u00a0 The film\u2014the first Korean movie to receive direct investment from Hollywood\u2014is similar in story line to the The Chaser<\/em>, a 2008 box office success in Korea. \u00a0The 36-year old Mr. Ha is one of Korea’s most popular and successful actors, making his film’s a must watch for introducing oneself\u00a0into modern Korean films (along with Won Bin\u00a0\uc6d0\ube48).<\/p>\n

THE YELLOW SEA<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

In The Yellow Sea<\/em>, which is alternatively titled\u00a0The Murderer<\/i>, Ha Jeong-woo returns to Korea to settle a debt.\u00a0 And like The Chaser<\/em>, Ha is on the run from Kim Yoon-seok, who plays an assassin. \u00a0(It should be noted that Kim Yoon-seok starred in a satire of the The Chaser<\/em>\u00a0in his film immediately prior, Running Turtle<\/em>\u00a0(\uac70\ubd81\uc774 \ub2ec\ub9b0\ub2e4, 2009.\u00a0 In that film, Kim plays a familiar role\u2014a suspended detective who is chasing a criminal, who, in this case, robbed him.)<\/p>\n

Ha plays a Joseongjuk (\uc870\uc120\uc871), an ethnic Korean living in China. \u00a0By day, Gu-nam (Ha) is a taxi driver, and by night he is gambling, usually playing\u00a0mahjong<\/em>, a rather complex Chinese board game sometimes played as a three-person game in Korea. \u00a0Meanwhile, his wife, who has promised to send money back, is working in South Korea, but he hasn’t heard from her since she left. \u00a0Deep in debt, he soon suspects she is having an affair, only to be fired and lose his severance pay to his debt collectors. \u00a0But this is only the beginning of the film’s suspense. \u00a0Kim Yoon-seok’s character offers him a way to earn money if he travels to South Korea to kill a businessman. \u00a0While on the stake-out,\u00a0Gu-name searches for his wife, but has the matter complicated by the Korean mafia, the Chinese Korean mafia, and the police all hunting for him.<\/p>\n

The films name refers to the sea between the Korean Peninsula and China, which is a very sensitive issue for Koreans. \u00a0Some maps refer to it at the East China Sea, an infuriating name for many Koreans.<\/p>\n

After writing and directing his first–and only–two feature films,\u00a0Na Hong-jin was backed by Fox International and Hollywood production companies to make follow-up films. \u00a0 However, he has yet to make a film since 2010, although it was announced he would make a film called\u00a0Gokseong <\/em>(\uace1\uc131)<\/em><\/a>, which instantly made it one of the most anticipated films of 2015<\/a>, as well as being rumored to debut at last May’s Cannes Film Festival. \u00a0But the production fell through, and the film ended up being\u00a0Office<\/em> by\u00a0Chaser\u00a0<\/em>co-writer Hong Won-chan, whose directorial debut received mild reviews at Cannes.<\/a><\/p>\n

LATE AUTUMN<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

Another production worth seeing\u00a0is the remake of Korea\u2019s 1966 classic, Manchu (\ub9cc\ucd94)<\/em>.\u00a0 The film, called Late Autumn<\/em>, is a Korean-American joint project, directed by Kim Tae-yong. \u00a0Set in the U.S., Late Autumn<\/em>\u00a0brings together two major Asian stars, Korea\u2019s Hyeon Bin \ud604\ube48 (from the TV hits \u201cMy Name is Kim Sam-soon\u201d \ub0b4 \uc774\ub984\uc740 \uae40\uc0bc\uc21c and “Secret Garden” \uc2dc\ud06c\ub9bf \uac00\ub4e0) and China\u2019s Tang Wei (from the Chinese hit Lust, Caution<\/em>).<\/p>\n

MOTHER<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

The movie that has, perhaps, drew the largest American and international exposure to Korean film is Bong Joon-ho\u2019s (\ubd09\uc900\ud638)\u00a0Mother (\ub9c8\ub354<\/em>). \u00a0It\u00a0is a love story between a mother (Kim Hye-ja \uae40\ud61c\uc790) and her son (the extremely popular heart throb Won Bin from Taegukgi \ud0dc\uadf9\uae30). \u00a0It soon turns into murder story turned criminal love story, where Kim Hye-ja tries to prove her mentally disabled son\u2019s innocence.<\/p>\n

Kim Hye-ja, has a stunning performance, one that helped Bong (from the hit horror film\u00a0The Host,\u00a0\uad34\ubb3c <\/em>meaning monster) continue his film success<\/a>. \u00a0However, Kim’s follow-up film,\u00a0Snowpiercer,\u00a0<\/em>received poor reviews and was a step-back. \u00a0But he returned to his previous form with the dramatic and tragic\u00a0Haemoo (\ud574\ubb34), <\/em>meaning sea frog, a film based on a true story about fisherman smuggling Chinese immigrants to Korea. \u00a0The film stars\u00a0The Yellow Sea<\/em>‘s Kim Yeon-suk. \u00a0He has plans for a sci-fi thriller next year, as a follow up to\u00a0The<\/em> Host, a massive box office success and modern Korean horror classic.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

[See Part 2, featuring three individual directors, in the next post.]<\/em><\/p>\n