Gwoemul (2006)

A monster emerges from Seoul's Han River and focuses its attention on attacking people. One victim's loving family does what it can to rescue her from its clutches.

Director:

Joon-ho Bong

Writers:

Joon-ho Bong (screenplay), Won-jun Ha (screenplay),

Stars:

Kang-ho Song, Hie-bong Byeon, Hae-il Park

20 wins & 15 nominations.

Cast

Credited cast:
Kang-ho Song	...	Park Gang-Doo
Hie-bong Byeon	...	Park Hie-bong (as Byun Hee-bong)
Hae-il Park	...	Park Nam-il
Doona Bae	...	Park Nam-Joo (as Bae Doo-na)
Ah-sung Ko	...	Park Hyun-seo (as Ko A-sung)
Dal-su Oh	...	The Monster (voice)
Jae-eung Lee	...	Se-jin
Dong-ho Lee	...	Se-joo
Je-mun Yun	...	Homeless Man
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
David Anselmo	...	Donald (as David Joseph Anselmo)
Martin Lord Cayce	...	U.S. Senator
Cristen Cho
Philip Hersh	...	Additional Voices (voice)
Paul Lazar	...	US Doctor trying to operate Gang-Du
Brian Lee

Storyline

The film revolves around Park Hee-bong, a man in his late 60s. He runs a small snack bar on the banks of the Han River and lives with his two sons, one daughter, and one granddaughter. The Parks seem to lead a quite ordinary and peaceful life, but maybe they are a bit poorer than the average Seoulite. Hee-bong's elder son Gang-du is an immature and incompetent man in his 40s, whose wife left home long ago. Nam-il is the youngest son, an unemployed grumbler, and daughter Nam-joo is an archery medalist and member of the national team. One day, an unidentified monster suddenly appears from the depths of the Han River and spreads panic and death, and Gang-du's daughter Hyun-seo is carried off by the monster and disappears. All of the family members are in a great agony because they lost someone very dear to them. But when they find out she is still alive, they resolve to save her.

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Plot Keywords:

river | daughter | monster | han river | death | 

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Taglines:

Du är vad den äter. [You are what it eats] Swedish DVD release

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Genres:

Action | Horror | Sci-Fi

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Certificate:

14A

Details

Official Sites:

Hoycinema (Spanish) Official site [Australia]

Country:

South Korea

Language:

Korean English

Release Date:

27 July 2006 (South Korea)

Also Known As:

The Host

Filming Locations:

Dong-ho Bridge, Seoul, South Korea

Box Office

Budget:

KRW 12,215,500,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$314,488 (USA) (9 March 2007)

Gross:

$2,201,412 (USA) (6 July 2007)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Showbox Entertainment, Chungeorahm Film, Boston Investments

Technical Specs

Runtime:

119 min 110 min (DVD)

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital EX

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

As of March 2009, this is the highest grossing film to date in South Korea, selling a total of 13,019,740 tickets. This means that over 20% of the South Korean population watched the movie (although there were also some who went to see it several times).

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Quotes

Park Nam-il: Look at that... Isn't that amazing? In this situation?
Park Nam-Joo: Wake him up, there's no time.
Park Hie-bong: Let him sleep a minute. He needs to sleep every so often.
Park Nam-il: Should we leave him here? He's no help anyway?
Park Hie-bong: Kids, wait a minute. Sit down. In your view, is Gang-du really so pathetic?
Park Nam-il: Yup.
Park Nam-Joo: Yes.
Park Hie-bong: You wouldn't know it, but he was a really smart kid. For example, when he was two, he'd sit in front of the village store, and everyone walking by would ask him directions. That's how smart he looked. As you know, when he ...
[...]

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Crazy Credits

Just before the credits ends, you can hear a loud roar of the monster.

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Connections

Featured in Siskel & Ebert & the Movies: Episode dated 10 March 2007 (2007)

User Reviews

Believable characters and moments that will make you jump out of your chair.....

I happened to watch this tonight at the cinema although I don't speak or understand Korean... let alone Japanese...however it wasn't difficult to grasp the story or get caught up with the characters and the situation.

This film is comical in parts and borders on science fiction, drama and even horror, but it is really fantastic to watch and displays a lot of emotion and realistic reactions. The special effects are excellent, the characters are believable and it is one movie well worth watching even if it is in a different language. There is nothing like a creature from hell to add a bit of excitement to your day....

For the first time ever I knocked over my coke and jumped 6 feet out of my seat when I was suddenly and unexpectedly given the fright of my life....for those of you that like this kind of excitement....be on the watch out for this little gem. (Subtitles would be an idea).

I highly recommend this film and cant wait to buy it and own it on DVD!!!!