''Chronicle of a Blood Merchant'' () is a 2015 South Korean

film adaptation A film adaptation is the transfer of a work or story, in whole or in part, to a feature film. Although often considered a type of derivative work, film adaptation has been conceptualized recently by academic scholars such as Robert Stam as a dial ...

of the bestselling 1995 Chinese novel of the same title by

Yu Hua Yu Hua (; born April 3, 1960, in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province) is a Chinese author. Shortly after his debut as a fiction writer in 1983, his first breakthrough came in 1987, when he released the short story '' On the Road at Age Eighteen''. Yu ...

. The film, set in 1950s Korea, was co-written and directed by

Ha Jung-woo Kim Sung-hoon (born March 11, 1978), better known as Ha Jung-woo (), is a South Korean actor, film director, screenwriter and film producer. One of the highest grossing actors in South Korea, Ha's starring films have accumulated more than 100 mil ...

, and he also starred alongside

Ha Ji-won Jeon Hae-rim (; born 28 June 1978), better known by her stage name Ha Ji-won () is a South Korean actress. She is best known for the historical dramas '' Damo'' (2003), ''Hwang Jini'' (2006), and '' Empress Ki'' (2013), as well as the melodra ...

Plot

Set in a village right after 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 ...

, poor but good-hearted Heo Sam-gwan sets out to win the most beautiful girl in the village, Heo Ok-ran, by selling his blood to earn money. Years later, the two are happily married with three children, but their family undergoes a crisis when Sam-gwan's eldest son doesn't resemble him and rumors spread about the boy's paternity.

Cast

as Heo Sam-gwan *

as Heo Ok-ran *

Nam Da-reum Nam Da-reum (born June 13, 2002) is a South Korean actor. He began his career as a child actor, having played young versions of the leading characters in several popular Korean dramas, and best known for his lead role in '' Beautiful World'' (2 ...

as Heo Il-rak *Noh Kang-min as Heo Yi-rak *Cheon Hyeon-seok as Heo Sam-rak *Jeon Hye-jin as Ms. Song *

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 Mr. Choi *Min Moo-je as Ha So-yong *

Joo Jin-mo Joo Jin-mo (born Park Jin-tae on 26 September 1974), is a South Korean actor. He is best known for his leading roles in the films '' Happy End'' (1999) in which he won Grand Bell Awards for Best Supporting Actor, ''200 Pounds Beauty'' (2006), ...

as Uncle *

Sung Dong-il Sung Dong-il (born April 27, 1967) is a South Korean actor. Sung made his acting debut in theater in 1987, then was recruited at the 1991 SBS open talent auditions. He rose to fame as the comic, Jeolla dialect-speaking character "Red Socks" in ...

as Mr. Bang *

Jung Man-sik Jung Man-sik (; born December 11, 1974) is a South Korean actor. His name is also romanized as ''Jeong Man-sik'' or ''Joung Man-sik''. Filmography Film Television series * ''Jungle Fish 2'' (KBS2, 2010) * '' Athena: Goddess of War'' (SBS, ...

as Mr. Shim * Cho Jin-woong as Mr. Ahn *

Kim Sung-kyun Kim Sung-kyun (born May 25, 1980) is a South Korean actor. Kim began his career in theatre, then made his screen debut as a gangster boss's faithful henchman in '' Nameless Gangster: Rules of the Time'', followed by supporting roles in '' The Ne ...

as Geun-ryong *Kim Jae-young as Mr. Jo * Lee Ji-hoon as Mr. Gye *

Kim Young-ae Kim Young-ae (; 21 April 1951 – 9 April 2017) was a South Korean actress. Career Kim Young-ae began her acting career when she joined MBC's 3rd Open Recruitment in 1971. She made her acting debut in the TV police procedural ''Chief Inspe ...

as Gye-hwa's mother *

Lee Geung-young Lee Geung-young (born December 12, 1960) is a South Korean actor. He graduated from the Department of Drama in Seoul. He debuted in 1977 and after completing his mandatory military service, he debuted in 1982 as the 10th public relations actor fo ...

as Ok-ran's father *Kim Byung-ok *Jung Ui-kap as Ascetic Moon *Choi Kyu-hwan as Postman *Kim Gi-cheon as Elder Dae-ji *Min Kyeong-jin as Elder Jang-ki *Jo Seon-mook as Restaurant owner *

Hwang Bo-ra Hwang Bo-ra (born October 2, 1983) is a South Korean actress. Hwang made her acting debut in 2003 and became popular after she played a quirky-looking "cup noodle girl" in a ramyeon commercial. In 2007, Hwang played the daughter/narrator in bla ...

as Gye-hwa *Lee Seung-joon as Dongdaemun Jeil hospital security guard 1 *

Yoon Eun-hye Yoon Eun-hye (; born October 3, 1984) is a South Korean actress, singer, entertainer and model. She debuted as a member of girl group Baby Vox, staying with the group from 1999 to 2005. Yoon has since moved on to acting and is best known for st ...

as Im Boon-bang ( cameo)

Box office

The film opened on January 15, 2015, placing fourth at the South Korean box office. It grossed () from 582,000 admissions in its first five days. At the end of its theatrical run, it had a total gross of from 955,206 admissions.

Awards and nominations

References

External links

* * * *{{hancinema film, Chronicle_of_a_Blood_Merchant, Chronicle of a Blood Merchant 2015 films Films based on Chinese novels South Korean drama films 2015 drama films Films set in the 1950s Films set in Korea Next Entertainment World films 2010s South Korean films