''A Werewolf Boy'' (; lit. "Wolf Boy") is a 2012 South Korean fantasy romance film in which a beautiful teenage girl (
Park Bo-young
Park Bo-young (, born February 12, 1990) is a South Korean actress. She is best known for her leading roles in the hit films ''Scandal Makers'' (2008), '' A Werewolf Boy'' (2012) and ''On Your Wedding Day'' (2018), and the television series '' ...
) is sent to a country house for her health, where she befriends and attempts to civilize a
feral boy (
Song Joong-ki
Song Joong-ki (; born September 19, 1985) is a South Korean actor. He rose to fame in the historical coming-of-age drama ''Sungkyunkwan Scandal'' (2010) and the variety show '' Running Man'' (2010–2011) as one of the original cast members. S ...
) she discovers on the grounds—but the beast inside him is constantly waiting to burst out.
Director
Jo Sung-hee
Jo Sung-hee (born February 3, 1979) is a South Korean film director. He directed the box office hit ''A Werewolf Boy'' (2012).
Career
After majoring in industrial design at Seoul National University, Jo Sung-hee joined the Seo Taiji Company ...
first wrote the script while studying at the Korean Academy of Film Arts and the script went through several rewrites before it was finalized in its current form. This is Jo's commercial debut; he previously directed the
arthouse flick ''End of Animal'' and the
short film
A short film is any motion picture that is short enough in running time not to be considered a feature film. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences defines a short film as "an original motion picture that has a running time of 40 minutes ...
''Don't Step Out of the House''.
''A Werewolf Boy'' had its world premiere in the "Contemporary World Cinema" section of the
2012 Toronto International Film Festival
The 37th annual Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) was held in Toronto, Ontario, Canada between September 6 and September 16, 2012. TIFF announced the films that were accepted on August 21, 2012. On its 37th edition the TIFF included a 2 ...
, then screened at the
17th Busan International Film Festival
The 17th Busan International Film Festival was held from October 4 to October 13, 2012 at the Busan Cinema Center and was hosted by Ahn Sung-ki and Chinese actress Tang Wei, who is the first foreign celebrity to host the event.
In this year's fes ...
before its theatrical release on October 31, 2012. It quickly rose up the box office charts to become
the most successful Korean melodrama of all time.
Plot
Kim Sun-yi, an elderly woman in her sixties living in the US, receives a phone call about the sale of her old family home back in South Korea.
Returning to her homeland, she's met by granddaughter Eun-joo, and they drive back to the house in the country. Sun-yi recalls how 47 years ago, when she was a 17-year-old girl in 1965, she moved from
Seoul
Seoul (; ; ), officially known as the Seoul Special City, is the capital and largest metropolis of South Korea.Before 1972, Seoul was the ''de jure'' capital of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea) as stated iArticle 103 ...
along with her widowed mother and sister Sun-ja to a remote valley to undergo a period of convalescence after suffering problems with her lungs.
The Kims lived in genteel poverty at the mercy of their arrogant landlord, Ji-tae, son of the business partner of Sun-yi's late father. Because of her delicate health, the beautiful yet introverted Sun-yi lives an isolated life without any friends.
One day, Sun-yi discovers a feral boy of about 19 in their yard. His blood type is unidentifiable, and he can neither read nor speak. Even though he behaves like a wild beast, Sun-yi's kindhearted mother adopts him and names him Chul-soo, assuming he's one of more than 60,000 children orphaned in the
Korean War
, date = {{Ubl, 25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953 (''de facto'')({{Age in years, months, weeks and days, month1=6, day1=25, year1=1950, month2=7, day2=27, year2=1953), 25 June 1950 – present (''de jure'')({{Age in years, months, weeks a ...
.
At first, Sun-yi considers him a nuisance, but eventually has fun taming him according to a dog-training manual. She teaches him how to wait patiently before a meal, how to wear clothes, speak, write, and other human behavior so that he could one day live like a normal man. Chul-soo demonstrates unswerving loyalty and superhuman brawn, inspiring the envy of Ji-tae, who lusts after Sun-yi.
The two eventually become close; as Sun-yi opens her heart to Chul-soo, he in turn falls in love with her, the only person to ever show him affection. But their relationship is fraught with difficulties as Ji-tae begins to cause trouble. Feeling threatened, Chul-soo lets loose his bestial instincts and in their fear, the town villagers turn on him. In order to save the boy who risked his life to be with her, Sun-yi leaves him with a promise: "Wait for me. I'll come back for you."
In present day, Sun-yi walks into the shed to find Chul-soo sitting there, still as young as he was 47 years ago. He hands her the note that she wrote. She realizes that he's been waiting all along. He reads her a book she had asked him to read all those years ago, as she falls asleep. The next day, she wakes up with Chul-soo nowhere in sight, and leaves with her granddaughter. They receive a call from the county asking about the property. Sun-yi tells him that she's not selling the place. Chul-soo stares from afar as the car drives away.
A sequence in the ending credits shows Chul-soo building a snowman.
Cast
![121206 문화연예대상 송중기](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/62/121206_%EB%AC%B8%ED%99%94%EC%97%B0%EC%98%88%EB%8C%80%EC%83%81_%EC%86%A1%EC%A4%91%EA%B8%B0.jpg)
*
Song Joong-ki
Song Joong-ki (; born September 19, 1985) is a South Korean actor. He rose to fame in the historical coming-of-age drama ''Sungkyunkwan Scandal'' (2010) and the variety show '' Running Man'' (2010–2011) as one of the original cast members. S ...
– Chul-soo
*
Park Bo-young
Park Bo-young (, born February 12, 1990) is a South Korean actress. She is best known for her leading roles in the hit films ''Scandal Makers'' (2008), '' A Werewolf Boy'' (2012) and ''On Your Wedding Day'' (2018), and the television series '' ...
– young Sun-yi / Eun-joo
* Lee Young-lan – Kim Sun-yi
*
Jang Young-nam
Jang Young-nam (born November 25, 1973) is a South Korean actress. She began her career as an acclaimed actress in theater, then transitioned to supporting roles on television and film, notably in works by director Jang Jin. A member of Jang Jin ...
– Sun-yi's mother
*
Yoo Yeon-seok
Yoo Yeon-seok (born Ahn Yeon-seok on April 11, 1984) is a South Korean actor. After making his acting debut in 2003 with a small role in '' Oldboy'', he resumed his acting career in 2008. His notable works include the films '' Re-encounter'' (2 ...
– Ji-tae
*
Kim Hyang-gi
Kim Hyang-gi (born August 9, 2000) is a South Korean actress.
Career
Kim began her career as a child actress, debuting in a Paris Baguette Commercial alongside her future co-star Jung Woo Sung and first appeared in the animal film '' Heart ...
– Sun-ja
* Yoo Sung-mok – Professor Kang Tae-shik
* Seo Dong-soo – army colonel
* Woo Jeong-guk – Mr. Jung
* Gu Bon-im – Mrs. Jung
* Nam Jung-hee – Dong-seok's grandmother
*
Ahn Do-gyu
Ahn Do-gyu (born September 28, 2000) is a South Korean actor.
Filmography
Television series
Web series
Films
Theater
Awards and nominations
References
External links
*
*
*
2000 births
Living people
South Korean male fil ...
– Dong-seok
* Shin Bi – Dong-mi
*
Lee Jun-hyeok – policeman
* Oh Yeong-seok – policeman
* Lee Sung-ju – Sun-yi's son
* Jang Seo-yi – Sun-yi's daughter-in-law
* Jo Jae-yun – Sun-yi's grandson
Music
The film's
music video
A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a m ...
featured
John Park's
single
Single may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media
* Single (music), a song release
Songs
* "Single" (Natasha Bedingfield song), 2004
* "Single" (New Kids on the Block and Ne-Yo song), 2008
* "Single" (William Wei song), 2016
* "Single", by ...
"철부지" ("Childlike").
"My Prince," the song that Sun-yi sings in the film, was released as a digital single and included in the soundtrack. It was composed by music director Shim Hyun-jung with lyrics by director
Jo Sung-hee
Jo Sung-hee (born February 3, 1979) is a South Korean film director. He directed the box office hit ''A Werewolf Boy'' (2012).
Career
After majoring in industrial design at Seoul National University, Jo Sung-hee joined the Seo Taiji Company ...
.
Soundtrack
# 나의 왕자님 ("My prince") –
Park Bo-young
Park Bo-young (, born February 12, 1990) is a South Korean actress. She is best known for her leading roles in the hit films ''Scandal Makers'' (2008), '' A Werewolf Boy'' (2012) and ''On Your Wedding Day'' (2018), and the television series '' ...
# Time she's forgotten
# 47 years ago
# A boy in the house
# Decision to train him
# Sun-yi's family
# Chul-soo in the bath
# First love
# Training
# Let's go to play
# Cosplay
# Where there's love
# Special power
# Turning to wolf
# Discover the secret
# She collapses
# Ji-tae's anger
# Chul-soo in chains
# Evil plan
# Searching for guitar
# Out of control
# To the forest
# Love unreached
# Don't leave me
# Walking away
# For a long time
# A werewolf boy
Reception
After premiering at number one in the South Korean box office with more than 100,000 admissions, ''A Werewolf Boy'' broke the 1 million mark after five days, 2 million after nine days, and 3.6 million in twelve days. Not only were these numbers remarkably high for November, considered a slow season for moviegoing in Korea, but it was also a rare feat for its melodrama genre.
The film also has the distinction of setting a new box office record for "''suneung'' day," the date on which high school seniors take their
College Scholastic Ability Test
The College Scholastic Ability Test or CSAT ( ko, , ), also abbreviated Suneung ( ko, , ), is a standardized test which is recognized by South Korean universities. The Korea Institute of Curriculum and Evaluation (KICE) administers the annual ...
. Each year large numbers of students book tickets for films in the evening after the exam has finished, but ''A Werewolf Boys one-day score of 341,475 tickets on November 8 outpaced the totals of any film in previous years.
On November 15, its 4.12 million admissions surpassed ''
Architecture 101
''Architecture 101'' (; lit. ''Introduction to Architecture'') is a 2012 South Korean romance film written and directed by Lee Yong-ju. The film tells the story of two students who meet in an introductory architecture class and fall in love. Fifte ...
'' to become the most successful Korean melodrama of all time.
Ticket sales reached 5 million on November 18, 6 million on November 26, then 7 million on December 16, making it the third highest Korean top grosser of 2012, behind ''
The Thieves
''The Thieves'' () is a 2012 South Korean heist action comedy film directed by Choi Dong-hoon with an ensemble cast.
With over 12.9 million ticket sales, the action comedy is the ninth highest-grossing film in Korean film history.
Plot
Ye ...
'' and ''
Masquerade'', and also the fourth best selling film of the year overall.
The film also became a
sleeper hit
In the entertainment industry, a sleeper hit is a film, television series, music release, video game, or some other entertainment product that was initially unsuccessful on release but became a success later on. A sleeper hit may have little promo ...
when it was released in
Taiwan
Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the nort ...
on December 28, 2012, grossing NT$4 million (US$138,000) at the
Taipei
Taipei (), officially Taipei City, is the capital and a special municipality of the Republic of China (Taiwan). Located in Northern Taiwan, Taipei City is an enclave of the municipality of New Taipei City that sits about southwest of the n ...
box office after 17 days on release.
The film also made its premiere in the
Philippines
The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no),
* bik, Republika kan Filipinas
* ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas
* cbk, República de Filipinas
* hil, Republ ...
on September 18, 2013 as part of the Korean Movie Festival 2013.
Alternate ending
After director
Jo Sung-hee
Jo Sung-hee (born February 3, 1979) is a South Korean film director. He directed the box office hit ''A Werewolf Boy'' (2012).
Career
After majoring in industrial design at Seoul National University, Jo Sung-hee joined the Seo Taiji Company ...
revealed during one of the film's Q&A sessions that they had shot an alternate ending, due to popular demand, the movie was re-released on December 6, 2012 with that ending. The alternate finale involves
Park Bo-young
Park Bo-young (, born February 12, 1990) is a South Korean actress. She is best known for her leading roles in the hit films ''Scandal Makers'' (2008), '' A Werewolf Boy'' (2012) and ''On Your Wedding Day'' (2018), and the television series '' ...
's Sun-yi, and among the deleted scenes are moments from Ji-tae's (
Yoo Yeon-seok
Yoo Yeon-seok (born Ahn Yeon-seok on April 11, 1984) is a South Korean actor. After making his acting debut in 2003 with a small role in '' Oldboy'', he resumed his acting career in 2008. His notable works include the films '' Re-encounter'' (2 ...
) childhood as well as more focus on the neighborhood in which the plot unfolds.
Book
A
novelization
A novelization (or novelisation) is a derivative novel that adapts the story of a work created for another medium, such as a film, TV series, stage play, comic book or video game. Film novelizations were particularly popular before the advent of ...
was published on October 31, 2012, to coincide with the movie's opening day.
Awards and nominations
References
External links
*
*
*
*
*
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Werewolf Boy, A
2012 films
2010s romantic fantasy films
Films set in the 1960s
Films set in the 2010s
Films set in Gangwon Province, South Korea
Films shot in Jeju
2010s Korean-language films
CJ Entertainment films
South Korean romantic fantasy films
2010s South Korean films