''General's Son'' () is a 1990 South Korean

crime film Crime films, in the broadest sense, is a film genre inspired by and analogous to the crime fiction literary genre. Films of this genre generally involve various aspects of crime and its detection. Stylistically, the genre may overlap and combine ...

directed by

Im Kwon-taek Im Kwon-taek (born December 8, 1934) is one of South Korea's most renowned film directors. In an active and prolific career, his films have won many domestic and international film festival awards as well as considerable box-office success, and h ...

. It stars Park Sang-min as

Kim Du-han Kim Du-han (May 15, 1918 – November 21, 1972), also spelled Kim Doo-han, was a South Korean mobster, anti-communist activist, politician and the son of Kim Chwa-chin. His pen name ('' ho'') was Uisong. He was notorious for right-wing terror ...

, a gangster who discovers that he is the son of General

Kim Jwa-jin Kim Chwa-jin or Kim Jwa-jin (December 16, 1889 – January 24, 1930), sometimes called by his pen name Baegya, was a Korean general, independence activist, and anarchist who played an important role in the early attempts at development of anarch ...

. The film is the first in a trilogy, followed by ''

General's Son II ''General's Son II'' (), also known as ''The General's Son II'' or ''Son of a General II'', is a 1991 South Korean crime film directed by Im Kwon-taek. The second film in Im's ''General's Son'' trilogy, it stars Park Sang-min as Kim Du-han, a gan ...

'' (1991) and ''

General's Son III ''General's Son III'' (), also known as ''Son of a General III'', is a 1992 South Korean crime film directed by Im Kwon-taek. The third film in the ''General's Son'' trilogy, and a sequel to the 1991 film ''General's Son II'', it stars Park Sang- ...

'' (1992). ''General's Son'' was the most highly attended film in South Korea in both 1990 and 1991.

Plot

lost his mother at the age of eight, and he survives on the streets as a singing beggar. His natural-born fighting skills places him on the mean streets of

Jongno Jongno or Jong-ro ( ko, 종로), literally meaning "Bell Street", is a trunk road and one of the oldest major east–west thoroughfares in Seoul, South Korea. Jongno connects Gwanghwamun Plaza to Dongdaemun. The area surrounding Jongno is a p ...

with the

kisaeng Kisaeng (Hangul: 기생, Hanja: 妓生, RR: ''Gisaeng''), also called ginyeo (Hangul: 기녀, Hanja: 妓女), were women from outcast or slave families who were trained to be courtesans, providing artistic entertainment and conversation to men ...

house Wumigwan at the center. He is soon recognized for his incredible strength and ability. He finds out through Shin Ma-jeok, the head of a student gang, that he is the son of General

who fought against the Japanese army. Meanwhile, the

Yakuza , also known as , are members of transnational organized crime syndicates originating in Japan. The Japanese police and media, by request of the police, call them , while the ''yakuza'' call themselves . The English equivalent for the term ...

s expand their sphere of influence and try to take over the Jongno streets but Du-han protects the Korean vendors of Jongno and wins their respect. When the head of Wumigwan, Kim Gi-hwan is arrested, Du-han becomes the leader of the Jongno gang.

Cast

Awards

Grand Bell Awards The Grand Bell Awards (), also known as the Daejong Film Awards, is an awards ceremony presented annually by The Motion Pictures Association of Korea for excellence in film in South Korea. The Grand Bell Awards retains prestige as the oldest co ...

: Best New Actor (1991)

References

External links

* * * 1990s action films 1990 crime drama films South Korean crime action films South Korean crime drama films South Korean neo-noir films Films about organized crime in Korea Films directed by Im Kwon-taek 1990s Korean-language films Films set in Korea under Japanese rule South Korean films based on actual events {{1990s-crime-drama-film-stub