''Way Back Home'' () is a 2013 South Korean drama film starring

Jeon Do-yeon Jeon Do-yeon (; born February 11, 1973) is a South Korean actress. She won Best Actress at the 60th Cannes Film Festival, making her the second Korean actress to win an acting award at a prestigious film festival, and Best Performance by an Ac ...

and

Go Soo Go Soo (born October 4, 1978), also known as Ko Soo, is a South Korean actor. He has appeared in television series such as ''Piano'', ''Green Rose'' and ''Will It Snow for Christmas?'', as well as the films '' White Night'' and '' The Front Line' ...

, and directed by

Bang Eun-jin Bang Eun-jin (born August 5, 1965) is a South Korean actress and film director. She is best known for starring in Park Chul-soo's ''301, 302'' and Kim Ki-duk's '' Address Unknown''. Bang made her feature directorial debut with '' Princess Aurora ...

. It is based on the true story of an ordinary Korean housewife who was imprisoned in

Martinique Martinique ( , ; gcf, label=Martinican Creole, Matinik or ; Kalinago: or ) is an island and an overseas department/region and single territorial collectivity of France. An integral part of the French Republic, Martinique is located in th ...

for two years after being wrongfully accused of

drug smuggling The illegal drug trade or drug trafficking is a global black market dedicated to the cultivation, manufacture, distribution and sale of drug prohibition, prohibited drugs. Most jurisdictions prohibitionism, prohibit trade, except under license, ...

at a Paris airport. This is the first time a Korean film was shot in the

Caribbean The Caribbean (, ) ( es, El Caribe; french: la Caraïbe; ht, Karayib; nl, De Caraïben) is a region of the Americas that consists of the Caribbean Sea, its islands (some surrounded by the Caribbean Sea and some bordering both the Caribbean Se ...

, as well as the first to feature actual guards and prisoners as supporting characters. Filming took place over three weeks at a women's prison in

Plot

Jeong-yeon (

) and Jong-bae (

) are a happily married couple with a young daughter; they pour their savings into an auto repair shop only to have the rug pulled out from underneath them when a friend of Jong-bae's commits suicide after he is unable to pay his loans. Since Jong-bae acted as his friend's

guarantor In finance, a surety , surety bond or guaranty involves a promise by one party to assume responsibility for the debt obligation of a borrower if that borrower defaults. Usually, a surety bond or surety is a promise by a surety or guarantor to pa ...

, the debt now falls onto them. With Jong-bae gradually growing despondent following their financial turmoil, Jeong-yeon makes the hard decision to do a job for a seedy acquaintance. She agrees to deliver diamonds from Paris to Seoul, which she thought would be legal. Jeong-yeon arrives in France, but as soon as she sets foot in

Orly Airport Paris Orly Airport (french: Aéroport de Paris-Orly), commonly referred to as Orly , is one of two international airports serving the French capital, Paris, the other one being Charles de Gaulle Airport (CDG). It is located partially in Orly an ...

she is arrested and police discover more than 30 kilograms (66 pounds) of

cocaine Cocaine (from , from , ultimately from Quechuan languages, Quechua: ''kúka'') is a central nervous system (CNS) stimulant mainly recreational drug use, used recreationally for its euphoria, euphoric effects. It is primarily obtained from t ...

in her bag. Being thrown in a French jail is only the beginning of her troubles as legal wranglings and an indifferent Korean embassy in France soon see her shipped off to a penitentiary on the far-flung island of

, a French territory in the

, where she is jailed for two years without being tried in court. Back in Korea, her husband does his best to get through to the diplomats and secure her passage home.

Cast

as Song Jeong-yeon *

as Kim Jong-bae *Ryu Tae-ho as Consul Bang *Bae Sung-woo as Section chief Chu Dae-yoon *Kang Ji-woo as Hye-rin *

Joanna Kulig Joanna Kulig (; born 24 June 1982) is a Polish actress and singer, best known for her role in the 2018 historical drama film ''Cold War'', which earned her the European Film Award for Best Actress. Her other notable credits include the films '' ...

as Yalka *

Corinne Masiero Corinne Masiero (born 3 February 1964) is a French actress. She was born in Douai. She began acting in her late 20s, initially appearing in the theatre before moving on to the screen. She is best known for her lead role in the 2012 film '' Louise ...

as "Hellboy" *

Lee Dong-hwi Lee Dong-hwi (born July 22, 1985) is a South Korean actor and singer. He gained recognition through his role in the critically acclaimed television series ''Reply 1988'' (2015–2016). Lee starred in the film ''Extreme Job'' (2019), the second ...

as Gwang-sik *

Choi Min-chul Choi Min-chul (born November 9, 1976) is a South Korean actor. He starred in film such as '' Way Back Home'' (2013) and '' The Throne'' (2015). Filmography Film Television series Theater Musical References External links Choi Min ...

as Seo Moon-do *Heo Joon-seok as Soo-jae *

Park Hyung-soo Park Hyung-soo is a South Korean actor. He is known for his roles in dramas such as ''Arthdal Chronicles'', ''The Devil Judge'', ''Crash Landing on You'' and ''Happiness''. He also appeared in movies '' Confidential Assignment'', '' The Chase'', ...

as Seoul District Prosecutors' Office detective *Park Yoon-hee as KBC TV reporter Shin Cheol-ho *

Park Ji-il Park Ji-il (Korean: 박지일, born September 1960) is a South Korean theatre, film and television actor. He is known for his supporting roles in various TV series and films. His better known works are: 2011 TV series ''The Thorn Birds'', 2013 ...

as Police officer Lee Soo *Lee Do-kyeong as Department head Joo *

Jean-Michel Martial Jean-Michel is a French masculine given name. It may refer to : * Jean-Michel Arnold Jean-Michel Arnold, (1938 - September 4, 2019) is General Secretary of the Cinémathèque Française, vice President of UNESCO's IFTC (International Council for F ...

as Martinique judge *Antoine Blanquefort as Martinique prosecutor *Hugues Martel as New defense lawyer Olivier Bécourt *Catherine Baugue as original Martinique defense lawyer *

Park Ji-hwan Park Ji-hwan (; born September 5, 1980) is a South Korean actor. He initially appeared in ''Yellow Hair'' (1999) and made his feature film debut in '' The City of Violence'' (2006). Since then, Park has performed in numerous movies and televisi ...

as Ha Tae-gwang *Seo Jin-won as Sang-cheol *

Oh Yeon-ah Oh Yeon-ah (born Kim Mi-ae on December 1, 1981) is a South Korean actress. She has played many supporting roles in both films and television series A television show – or simply TV show – is any content produced for viewing on a televisi ...

as Lee Soo-ji *Chae Yoo-hee as Ji-hye *Dong Hyo-hee as Jong-bae's older sister * Marie-Philomène Nga as "250 years old" * Feliné Quezada Figueroa as "Gangster #1" *Gastner Legerme as Ducos driving prison officer *Seo Byeong-cheol as Interrogating detective Choi Jo *Kim Mi-kyung as landlady *Son Young-joo as YTN newsreader *Kim Seon-ju as French interpreter *Pascal Vallet as French plainclothes policeman *Kim Su-hyeon as Bang's wife *

Lee Sa-bi Lee Sa-bi (born Lee Eon-jeong on July 3, 1977) is a South Korean model and actress. She began her modelling career as a runway model in Daegu in 1998. Lee was the first native Korean to become a Playboy model. Her nude photo shoot was published i ...

as KBC TV writer *Kang Myeong-chan as KBC TV cameraman *

Jang Gwang Jang Gwang (born January 5, 1952) is a South Korean actor in film and television. Filmography Film * ''Taste of Horror – Gym for Residents'' (TBA) * '' Air Murder'' (2022) * '' Sinkhole (2021) * ''White Day: Broken Barrier'' (2021) * ...

as Korean ambassador to France ( cameo) *Kim Hae-gon as Deputy driving car owner ( cameo)

Background

On 30 October 2004, Jang Mi-jeong was arrested at

in France for

smuggling Smuggling is the illegal transportation of objects, substances, information or people, such as out of a house or buildings, into a prison, or across an international border, in violation of applicable laws or other regulations. There are various ...

a suitcase filled with 17 kilograms (or 37 pounds) of

. Jang said she had no idea what it contained; she had been given a bag by her husband's friend, whom she had known for more than 10 years, and was told it was filled with unpolished gemstones. Jang had agreed to carry the suitcase from

Guyana Guyana ( or ), officially the Cooperative Republic of Guyana, is a country on the northern mainland of South America. Guyana is an indigenous word which means "Land of Many Waters". The capital city is Georgetown. Guyana is bordered by the ...

to the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

via France in return for (). After getting caught at Orly, Jang was jailed near Paris for three months awaiting trial. Then, after being found guilty, she was sent to a prison in French-administered

in the

. She finally returned to Korea two years later on 18 November 2006. Her friend was eventually arrested as well and sentenced to serve 10 years in jail. Jang's story was later featured on ''In Depth 60 Minutes'', a KBS investigative-documentary show, in 2006. In 2013, Jang published the book ''Lost Days'', recounting her ordeal and her life after returning from prison, particularly her difficult re-adjustment to Korean society and the

ostracism Ostracism ( el, ὀστρακισμός, ''ostrakismos'') was an Athenian democratic procedure in which any citizen could be expelled from the city-state of Athens for ten years. While some instances clearly expressed popular anger at the cit ...

she and her two daughters faced. The

Ministry of Foreign Affairs In many countries, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is the government department responsible for the state's diplomacy, bilateral, and multilateral relations affairs as well as for providing support for a country's citizens who are abroad. The entit ...

has been criticized by Jang and the filmmakers for its handling of the incident, citing their "diplomatic negligence" and calling them irresponsible when it comes to protecting Koreans abroad. Foreign Ministry officials have insisted that the story in the movie is not the whole truth.

Box office

''Way Back Home'' was released in theaters on 11 December 2013. The film recorded 610,000 admissions on its opening weekend, placing second in box-office sales. It ended up selling a total of 1,854,702 tickets, with a gross of .

Awards and nominations

References

External links

* * * *{{IMDb title, 2797106, Way Back Home 2013 films South Korean drama films South Korean films based on actual events 2010s South Korean films