WaSanGo (2001)

User Rating:

5.9/10   

Director:

Tae-gyun Kim

Writers:

Tae-gyun Kim (writer)
Dong-heon Seo (writer)

Release Date:

5 December 2001 (South Korea)

Genre:

Action | Fantasy

Tagline:

Violence inside Korean schools, especially WaSanGo.

Plot:

Violence in Korean High School, especially inside the WaSanGo (Volcano High). You won't be able to escape.

Plot Keywords:

High School | Blackboard | South Korea | Mud | Girl Fighter

Cast

Hyuk Jang	...	Kim, Kyeong-su
Min-a Shin	...	Yu, Chae-i
Su-ro Kim	...	Jang, Ryang
Sang-woo Kwone	...	Song Hak-Rim
Hyo-jin Kong	...	So, Yo-seon
Sang-hun Jeong	...	Golbangi
Hyeong-jong Kim	...	Shim, Ma
Shi-ah Chae	...	Yo-mi
Jun-ho Heo	...	Mr. Ma
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
André Benjamin	...	Kim Kyeong-su (MTV English Dub) (as André 3000)
Big Boi	...	(MTV English Dub)
Hie-bong Byeon
Snoop Dogg	...	Song Hak-lim (MTV English Dub)
Su-Jeong Eom
Mu-hyeon Lee
Method Man	...	Mr. Ma (MTV English Dub)
Tracy Morgan	...	(MTV English Dub)
Pat Morita	...	(MTV English Dub)
Mya	...	Yu Cha-i (MTV English Dub)
Pete Sepenuk	...	Dean

Also Known As:

Hwasan Highschool (literal English title)
Volcano High (International: English title) (Berlin film festival title)

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for martial arts violence, some partial nudity and language.

Runtime:

Canada:99 min (Toronto International Film Festival) | Germany:121 min | South Korea:120 min | UK:95 min (25 fps)

Country:

South Korea

Language:

Korean

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Iceland:16 | Netherlands:12 | Germany:16 | South Korea:12 | Sweden:11 | Singapore:PG | Australia:M | Spain:18 | UK:15 (DVD rating) | USA:PG-13 | Malaysia:(Banned)

Company:

SBS

Trivia:

André Benjamin's film debut.

Movie Connections:

Featured in "Troldspejlet: (#31.10)" (2004)

It Sure Beats The High School I Went To!

"Volcano High" takes every Anime high school cliche ever made and slaps them all together in a two hour extravaganza of amazing special effects, side-splitting humor, and an intentionally overacting cast. The result is cinematic perfection.

The main story is about Kim Kyeong-Su, a young man who seems to get into fights no matter where he goes - causing him to be kicked out of 8 schools previous to Volcano High. This is his ninth and final chance at success, so he can't afford to mess up. Unfortunately for Kim, Volcano High is a school that thrives on fighting - and Kim, being the new guy, is prime choice. Because of this, he spends a lot of the time getting his hindside handed to him. Once a conspiracy to overthrow the principal and introduce capital punishment to the student body comes into play, Kim realizes he can no longer stand by and let things unravel this way. Therefore, he decides to join the other students in a battle against the newly hired teachers designed to wipe out all of the fighters at Volcano High...

Which is where we, the unwitting audience, bear witness to some of the most insane battles ever displayed on film. The final battle has to be seen to be believed - but that's all I'm going to say! I leave it up to you to watch the movie for yourself. Trust me, it's hard to find, but worth the effort... Especially Hyo-jin Kong as So Yo-Seon!

"Volcano High" ranks up quite high in my list of favorites. See it for yourself, and discover if you feel the same way!