Gukjesijang (2014)

Amid the time of Korean War, a young boy's vow to take care of his family marked the beginning of a lifelong promise spanning 60 years.

Director:

JK Youn

Writer:

Soo-jin Park

Stars:

Jung-min Hwang, Yunjin Kim, Dal-su Oh

17 wins & 20 nominations.

Cast

Credited cast:
Jung-min Hwang	...	Yoon, Duk-soo
Yunjin Kim	...	Youngja
Dal-su Oh	...	Dal-gu
Jin-young Jung	...	Yoon, Jin-gyu
Young-nam Jang	...	Mother
Mi-ran Ra	...	Aunt Kkotbun
Seul-gi Kim	...	Kketsun (as Seul-ki Kim)
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Stella Choe	...	Maksoon
Jesse Day	...	American Soldier
Yunho Jung	...	Nam Jin
Min-jae Kim	...	Yoon, Dojoo
István Medvigy	...	Maksoon's Husband
Inho Tae	...	Yoon, Kijoo
Teresa Trnková	...	German Nurse

Storyline

Amid the chaos of refugees fleeing the Korean War in December 1950, a young boy, Duk-soo, sees his fate change in the blink of an eye when he loses track of his younger sister and he leaves his father behind to find her. Settling in Busan, Duk-soo devotes himself to his remaining family, working all manner of odd jobs to support them in place of his father. His dedication leads him first to the deadly coal mines of Germany, where he meets his first love, Youngja, and then to war-torn Vietnam in this generational epic about one man's personal sacrifices.

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Plot Keywords:

father | coal mine | busan | south korean war drama | ship | 

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Genres:

Drama

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Details

Official Sites:

Official site [Japan]

Country:

South Korea

Language:

Korean English German

Release Date:

17 December 2014 (South Korea)

Also Known As:

The International Market

Filming Locations:

Busan, South Korea

Box Office

Opening Weekend USA:

$46,320, 2 January 2015, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$2,300,121

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$105,365,782

Company Credits

Production Co:

JK FILMS

Technical Specs

Runtime:

126 min

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

For its North American run, the film premiered in Los Angeles on December 31, 2014 where it drew over 6,000 viewers after four days of release, mostly first-generation Korean-American immigrants in their fifties and older. Beginning January 9, 2015, it expanded to 43 US and Canadian cities such as New York City, Chicago, Washington D.C., Boston, Seattle, Toronto, and Vancouver.

User Reviews

Go See It for Yourself! Educational, Entertaining and Stirring.

Wowww! I don't know where to start. The movie was so much better than my expectation after reading the IMDb's movie critics' reviews. I feel compelled to disagree with some of the criticisms that this movie tried to be melodramatic, some scenes were unnecessarily too comical, and that it was improbable and unrealistic for a person to go through all such tumultuous events. I like to recommend those critics to read about the 20th century Korean history.

My mother now in her 80's experienced many of the same experiences and some additional events in her lifetime: the Japanese occupation (1910- 1945), her 11 -year old classmates being shipped off by Japanese as wartime prostitutes during WWII (1939-1945), Korean independence (1948), Korean War (1950-1953) during which time she was a refugee in Busan, etc.

Immediately after WWII, after Japan exhausted all of Korea's natural resources, goods and men to fuel their war engines, Korean War broke. Whatever remained standing or fertile were bombed or burned up. After the Korean War, Korea was literally in rubble and ashes. Many families were split up and scattered during the war. The Streets were covered with orphans. Holt Adoption Agency placed many Korean orphans in American homes. These are all accurate.

As an early teen (in early 1960's), I was hearing about many Koreans hiring themselves out to foreign countries to find work as miners, nurses, or soldiers. The movie was also accurate that Germany did not extend the visas of foreigner miners for they were hired to make up for their temporary labor shortage.

I do agree with the critics that some of the acting was a bit raw, but they were soon forgotten as the movie pulled me into the story. I appreciated the funny scenes in the movie, for without them, it would have been too depressing to watch. This is a wonderful, wonderful movie, you must see! It is playing in K-Town at CGV theater. Also good eats in the same shopping mall.