''Poongsan'' (; lit. "Phungsan Dog") is a 2011 South Korean
thriller film directed by
Juhn Jai-hong
Juhn Jai-hong (; born 1977) is a South Korean film director. He directed ''Beautiful (2008 film), Beautiful'' (2008) and ''Poongsan'' (2011).
Career
Early life
Juhn Jai-hong was born in Seoul, and began receiving vocal lessons in the third gra ...
, starring
Yoon Kye-sang
Yoon Kye-sang (; born December 20, 1978) is a South Korean actor and singer. He began his career in 1999 as part of the K-pop boy band g.o.d, then left the group in 2004 and pursued an acting career. He made his acting debut in the film '' Fly ...
and
Kim Gyu-ri.
Poongsan, whose real name is never revealed, is a mysterious messenger who crosses the demarcation line between the two Koreas, delivering letters and cherished heirlooms between separated families in Seoul and Pyongyang.
One day he is commissioned by South Korean government agents with the task of smuggling in In-ok, the beautiful lover of a high-ranking North Korean defector, into the South. Yet things take an unexpected turn when the deliveryman falls for the young woman, but their romance is put in jeopardy by the obstacles they encounter.
Part love story, part postwar tragedy, with a dose of comedy thrown in, the low-budget film ''Poongsan'' depicts the sad reality of the division between the two Koreas.
Plot
A man simply known as "Poongsan" (
Yoon Kye-sang
Yoon Kye-sang (; born December 20, 1978) is a South Korean actor and singer. He began his career in 1999 as part of the K-pop boy band g.o.d, then left the group in 2004 and pursued an acting career. He made his acting debut in the film '' Fly ...
) - from the brand of North Korean cigarettes he smokes - makes regular trips across the
Korean DMZ
The Korean Demilitarized Zone (Korean: ; Hanbando Bimujang Jidae) is a strip of land running across the Korean Peninsula near the 38th parallel north. The demilitarized zone (DMZ) is a border barrier that divides the peninsula roughly in hal ...
, smuggling everything from people to antiques. No one knows whether he is from the North or the South, though from his commando-like abilities he is obviously highly trained. He makes contact with clients via a makeshift memorial-cum-bulletin board for divided families along the DMZ. On one mission he smuggles an antique, as well as a young boy, from North to South; when the smugglers are caught by the police, the
South's National Intelligence Service becomes aware of Poongsan's existence. They contract him to bring a young woman, In-ok (
Kim Gyu-ri), from
Pyongyang
Pyongyang (, , ) is the capital and largest city of North Korea, where it is known as the "Capital of the Revolution". Pyongyang is located on the Taedong River about upstream from its mouth on the Yellow Sea. According to the 2008 populat ...
to her lover (Kim Jong-soo), a high-ranking North Korean official who recently defected and is still guarded by NIS agents. The arrogant official, who is paranoid about being assassinated, has been holding out on writing a report for the NIS until In-ok joins him. On the journey across the DMZ, In-ok accidentally sets off a mine that almost kills her and Poongsan, and also has to be revived by mouth-to-mouth resuscitation when she almost drowns. The mission is successful but In-ok has become attached to the man who saved her life. Suspicious that the two made love during the crossing, the official abuses In-ok after they are reunited and she expresses a desire to return to the North. Meanwhile, Poongsan is tortured by an NIS team leader (Choi Mu-seong) to find out whether he is a North Korean agent, but is rescued by the team leader's boss (Han Gi-jung). Poongsan is forced to rescue NIS agent Kim Yong-nam, who's been caught in the North and is under interrogation; in gratitude, and appalled by his own agency's methods, Kim later helps Poongsan escape from the NIS' control. But then Poongsan and In-ok are captured by North Korean agents in the South.
Cast
*
Yoon Kye-sang
Yoon Kye-sang (; born December 20, 1978) is a South Korean actor and singer. He began his career in 1999 as part of the K-pop boy band g.o.d, then left the group in 2004 and pursued an acting career. He made his acting debut in the film '' Fly ...
... Poongsan
*
Kim Gyu-ri ... In-ok
*
Kim Jong-soo ... North Korean defector
*Han Gi-jung ... section chief
*
Choi Moo-sung
Choi Myung-soo (born January 12, 1968), better known by his stage name Choi Moo-sung, is a South Korean actor.
Filmography
Film
Television series
Awards and nominations
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Choi, Moo-su ...
... team leader
*Yoo Ha-bok ... North Korean public officer
*Kim Yun-tae ... chief bodyguard
*
Joe Odagiri
, better known by his stage name , is a Japanese actor and musician.
Personal life
Joe Odagiri was born in Tsuyama, Okayama prefecture. Though he was accepted by Kochi University, he turned it down for an opportunity to study in the United States ...
... North Korean border guard 1 (cameo)
*
Kim Young-hoon
Kim Young-Hoon (born October 2, 1978) is a South Korean actor.
Filmography
Film
Television series
Web series
References
External links
*
*
*
*
*
1978 births
Living people
South Korean male television actors
Sout ...
... Hit team 4
Production
Written and co-produced by
Kim Ki-duk
Kim Ki-duk ( ; 20 December 196011 December 2020) was a South Korean film director and screenwriter, noted for his idiosyncratic art-house cinematic works. His films have received many distinctions in the festival circuit, rendering him one of ...
, and directed by his protégé
Juhn Jai-hong
Juhn Jai-hong (; born 1977) is a South Korean film director. He directed ''Beautiful (2008 film), Beautiful'' (2008) and ''Poongsan'' (2011).
Career
Early life
Juhn Jai-hong was born in Seoul, and began receiving vocal lessons in the third gra ...
, the () film was shot over 25 takes in just 30 days, while the entire cast and crew took part in the project with no
guarantee
Guarantee is a legal term more comprehensive and of higher import than either warranty or "security". It most commonly designates a private transaction by means of which one person, to obtain some trust, confidence or credit for another, engages ...
. "I wanted to show that it is possible to make a film with passion rather than money," Juhn told reporters at a press preview.
[Lee, Hyo-won (14 June 2011)]
"Filmmaking is not about money: Kim Ki-duk"
''The Korea Times
''The Korea Times'' is the oldest of three English-language newspapers published daily in South Korea. It is a sister paper of the '' Hankook Ilbo'', a major Korean language daily; both are owned by Dongwha Enterprise, a wood-based manufacture ...
''. Retrieved 2013-03-11.
Kim handed Juhn the story idea for ''Poongsan'' in fall 2010, saying he wanted a young director to bring a fresh perspective to inter-Korean issues. Juhn, known as an "artsy" filmmaker (his directorial debut ''
Beautiful
Beautiful, an adjective used to describe things as possessing beauty, may refer to:
Film and theater
* ''Beautiful'' (2000 film), an American film directed by Sally Field
* ''Beautiful'' (2008 film), a South Korean film directed by Juhn Jai-h ...
'' premiered at
Berlin
Berlin ( , ) is the capital and List of cities in Germany by population, largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's List of cities in the European Union by population within ci ...
), wanted to make a fun, edgy film that was first and foremost popcorn entertainment. Juhn had to fight to cast
Yoon Kye-sang
Yoon Kye-sang (; born December 20, 1978) is a South Korean actor and singer. He began his career in 1999 as part of the K-pop boy band g.o.d, then left the group in 2004 and pursued an acting career. He made his acting debut in the film '' Fly ...
in the lead role, having been impressed by his piercing gaze in ''
The Moonlight of Seoul
''Beastie Boys'' () is a 2008 South Korean film about male hosts who serve female clients in discreet salons tucked into the affluent fashion districts of southern Seoul.
Its international English title ''The Moonlight of Seoul'' is taken from a ...
''. Juhn said, "Yoon is only two years younger than I am and we were both trying to challenge stereotypes.
Kim Gyu-ri is also our age and it was amazing collaborating with such talented actors."
[Lee, Hyo-won (27 June 2011)]
"Poongsan: a director's mission impossible"
''The Korea Times
''The Korea Times'' is the oldest of three English-language newspapers published daily in South Korea. It is a sister paper of the '' Hankook Ilbo'', a major Korean language daily; both are owned by Dongwha Enterprise, a wood-based manufacture ...
''. Retrieved 2013-03-11.
Juhn, a former opera singer, featured his own voice for
Schumann
Robert Schumann (; 8 June 181029 July 1856) was a German composer, pianist, and influential music critic. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest composers of the Romantic era. Schumann left the study of law, intending to pursue a career a ...
's ''
Die Lotosblume''. Tim Starnes, whose credits include ''
The Twilight Saga: Eclipse'' and the second and third of the ''
Lord of the Rings
''The Lord of the Rings'' is an epic high-fantasy novel by English author and scholar J. R. R. Tolkien. Set in Middle-earth, intended to be Earth at some time in the distant past, the story began as a sequel to Tolkien's 1937 children's boo ...
'' franchise, edited the
soundtrack
A soundtrack is recorded music accompanying and synchronised to the images of a motion picture, drama, book, television program, radio program, or video game; a commercially released soundtrack album of music as featured in the soundtrack ...
.
References
External links
*
*
*
*
{{Kim Ki-duk
2011 films
2010s action thriller films
South Korean action thriller films
Films set in North Korea
Next Entertainment World films
2010s Korean-language films
Films about North Korean defectors
2010s South Korean films