g i m c r a c k

"Teureok"
Release Information:
Directed by: Kwon Hyeong-jin
Released by: Sidus (2008)
Running time: 96 minutes
Genre: Thriller | Suspense | Action
Purchase: YesAsia | AsianDB

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Synopsis
Jeong Cheol-min is a hard working truck driver, and his days are filled with running deliveries and doting on his seven year old daughter. But little Da-young has the same serious heart condition that claimed the life of her mother, and when she is suddenly rushed to the intensive care unit in a serious state, Cheol-min's only hope to save her is a heart transplant. However, his salary hardly covers the $60,000 needed for the surgery, so Cheol-min turns to private loans and borrowing.

Still finding himself desperately short of cash, Cheol-min is coerced into a game of poker at a Dukso nightclub. Even though Lady Luck appears to be on his side, the game turns aggressive, and with all his savings and his truck in the pot, Cheol-min loses his hand. Then discovers it was set-up! Enraged, his brawl lands him in the middle of a room where he finds several bloody bodies, still being beaten to death by the nightclub owner. Despite the severity of the situation, the ruthless gang-boss calmly gives Cheol-min the opportunity to escape joining the bodies; he is offered the return of his cash winnings, his truck, and his life in exchange for Cheol-min burying the corpses.

With little choice in the matter, and frantic for the money to save his daughter, Cheol-min decides to dump the bodies in Young-gi Lake in Kangwon province. On his stressful journey there, he sees a car accident on the remote roadway, and good samaritan Cheol-min pulls over. He finds an over-turned prison van full of dead and injured police. Realizing his truck is full of bodies itself and calling in the cops would be detrimental to his plan, Cheol-min flees the scene helplessly - only to find a stray officer further along, who all but commandeers him for a ride. With a wounded leg, the officer explains that they were escorting captured serial killer, Kim Yeong-ho, from his psych hospital to prison for trial; the murderer jumped them and caused the accident. Having escaped, the officer explains he needs to stop Kim before he kills again.

As it would so happen for poor Cheol-min, things only turn worse when the officer's story takes a darker turn and Cheol-min is swept along for the truck ride ...

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"Hyumeoniseuteu"
Release Information:
Directed by: Lee Moo-yeong
Released by: Bear Entertainment (2001)
Running time: 100 minutes
Genre: Dark comedy | Crime Drama | Adult Situations
Purchase: YesAsia | AsianDB

Synopsis
Ma Tae-ho is the son of a rich real estate broker, a clean-cut and haughty young man whose only happiness has stemmed from his father's money. He is indifferent to the humanism of society, used to his father's brutal domineering ways, and aloof to his new, young stepmother. As a retired Army General, Tae-ho's father is strict on sending his college drop-out son off to the military, yet Tae-ho won't hear of it! Instead, he'd rather spend his time uselessly hanging out with his only friends, the artistic and eunuch Euglena, and Amoeba, who is as slow-witted as he is strong.

But one night of heavy drinking and behind the wheel of his father's BMW, the three friends accidentally kill a police officer, after foolishly trying to avoid a routine DUI roadblock. And the cop's partner threatens them, deciding to milk the tragic situation by extorting money from the wealthy Tae-ho. When the initial fear wears off, Tae-ho finds himself presented with the perfect opportunity to get the money he needs to avoid being drafted, and perhaps have a bonding experience with Dad. So Tae-ho and his friends devise a clever scheme to kidnap his father and ransom him for the money. It's the perfect plan ...

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"Dakteo K"
Release Information:
Directed by: Gwak Kyeong-taek
Released by: Il Shin Investment (1999)
Running time: 107 minutes
Genre: Medical Drama | Romance | Spiritual | Fantasy
Purchase: YesAsia | AsianDB

Synopsis
Dr. Kang Ji-min (Cha In-pyo) is a fourth year resident neurosurgeon and a quiet loner by nature. Besides his solitary ways, Dr. Kang has garnered much attention from both the hospital staff and the Board of Directors thanks to his miraculous skills; in a short time, he has saved three incurable children in a surgery that no other doctor would dare. Rumors spread about the miracle worker Dr. K, and many of the interns have their own ideas about his behavior. Yet gossip doesn't seem to bother Kang.

It does, however, bother the resident anesthesiologist, Dr. Pyo Ji-su (Kim Hye-su). She had gone to med school with Kang, and though at first she had felt competitive towards the guy who was always top of the class, Ji-su soon started caring for his strange, empathic ways. When her uncle, the Chief of Neuroscience, Lee Seok-myeong (Yu In-chon) begins investigating Dr. Kang, Ji-su gets on the defensive and starts her own research in order to protect him. But what she discovers may break all the rules of science that she has known, and opens her eyes to the real danger that Kang faces.

Affection and danger mean little to Kang, who also finds himself in the adoring sights of a 19 year old girl, Woo Sae-eun (Kim Ha-neul) who is slowly dying from a malignant brain tumor. The sympathetic girl is the heiress to a small fortune and is trying to escape her mooching relatives by continuing to sign herself back into the hospital - all with the hopes of seeing Dr. Kang. The infamous Dr. K is willing to risk his career to save Sae-eun, but Ji-su knows he will risk even more than that to requite the girl's love.

( My Review - Spoiler Warning! )

"Namgeuk ilgi"
Release Information:
Directed by: Im Pil-seong
Released by: Showbox (2005)
Running time: 115 minutes
Genre: Suspense | Adventure | Drama | Thriller
Purchase: YesAsia | AsianDB

( Trailer )

Synopsis
"I just wanted to go somewhere, a place where not just every man can come and go. I thought it would welcome me..." The Pole of Inaccessibility (P.O.I.) marks a polar location that is the most remote and challenging point in Antarctica. At a latitude bearing of 82 degrees eight minutes south and longitude 54 degrees 58 minutes east, it is the point on the continent farthest away from the ocean. It is located 288 miles from the South Pole. The surface elevation is 12,198 feet. It was reached only once in 1957 by a Soviet expedition for International Geophysical Year research work.

A Korean expedition team of six men tackle the challenge of becoming the second to reach the Pole of Inaccessibility, and delayed by preparations, they find themselves on a tight schedule to make it to the point before the sun sets; in Antarctica, the sun only sets once and there is six months of daylight and six months of darkness. Lead by pro-explorer Choi Do-hyung, and with rookie Kim Min-jae, who eagerly joined to work under his idol, Captain Choi, the expedition party braves the minus 89.4°C temperatures, dry ice flatlands, snowy hills, the blizzards and the whiteouts - taking Mother Nature all in stride.

When the team stumbles upon an old flag marker, they dig up a blackened, smudged book approperiately titled in English "Antarctic Journal". It appears to have been a log kept by a British expedition team in 1922. Though largely unreadable, the journal features sketches of the British team (also six men) who quite strangely enough remind Min-jae of their own party. The young member begins to feel an odd premonition about both expeditions, and when things start to go poorly, the other members begin to feel it, too. One is striken with a sudden illness, while another grows infinitely suspcious of his "insensitive" teammates. And all the time, their Captain seems detached, silently drawn to the snowy world around him.

Soon the men begin to feel haunted by the cold, white wastelands, as if some unforseen force is stalking their every step. Yet they are driven ever onward by fiercely determined Captain Choi, whose earnest desire to reach P.O.I. forces his team to wonder about his sudden unstablitiy and tragic past. As they slowly begin to lose each member by curious circumstances, Min-jae is forced to question what exactly became of the British expedition - and if their own will be forced to repeat their steps ...

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"Sseom"
Release Information:
Directed by: Jang Yun-hyeon
Released by: Cinema Service (2004)
Running time: 118 minutes
Genre: Action | Suspense | Crime Drama
Purchase: YesAsia | AsianDB

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Synopsis
Seo Yu-jin (Song Ji-hyo) is a young traffic news reporter for the local radio station who has just moved into a new apartment she acquired from an online friend, known as Khan. The personable, bubbly girl not only has a sixth sense for doing her job, she also has telling dreams. In fact, on this particular day she wakens with a serious feeling of déjà vu. Shrugging it off, she finishes unpacking in her new place, interrupted by one of Khan's buddies at her door. He gives her an MP3 player for Khan, insisting she make sure he gets it.

Yu-jin is digusted by his piercings and demeanor, but unbeknownst to her this radical young man is nicknamed Dark Horseman on the streets, and he is a wanted punk. High on drugs, Dark Horseman and two lady friends speed down a busy late-night highway, and in pursuit is young police detective Kang Seong-joo (Ko Soo in his first theatrical role) on the case of these young thugs. His SUV is unable to overcome the other's sports car - until Dark Horseman plows into a truck and flips the vehicle, killing himself and one of the passengers. Unable to save them, Kang is distraught over the deaths and the lost evidence. He does come away with Dark Horseman's cell phone, which he uses to pry some more names out of the street gang.

At the same time, the street gang is feeling the pressure from the local organized mafia, who use cocaine overdoses to try and befuddle the kids into telling them where a certain shipment is - the cops, mafia and punks are all connected to a missing 10 billion won worth of drugs and everyone is feeling the shake down. Especially when there is a rumor of a suspicious photo showing the identity of the police leak on the loose. With Kang's department head accused, he is desperate to solve the case even if it means entreating the punks on their level.

The punks are unable to give up the whereabouts of their leader, Khan, but they do lead the mafia to the tenant of his old apartment: Yu-jin, who is saved from being kidnapped by Detective Kang. With a new witness, Kang is adament upon keeping her safe. Yu-jin, however, feels a different connection to Kang. She feels as if they've met before, and as the next 24 hours progress, Yu-jin finds she already has memories of this day, like she's lived it before. And it may be the last day either of them lives.

( My Review - Spoiler Warning! )

"Chaempieon"
Release Information:
Directed by: Gwak Gyeong-taek
Released by: Korea Pictures (2002)
Running time: 117 minutes
Genre: Sports Drama | History
Purchase: YesAsia | AsianDB

( Trailer )

Synopsis
On November 14th 1982, Korea's lightweight boxing pro Kim Deuk-goo faces U.S. Ray "Boom Boom" Mancini at Caesar's Palace in Las Vegas in an attempt to claim the World Champion title. His efforts end in tragedy, but his tale made him a legend in Korean sports history.

Born into a poor family in a rural village, Kim Deuk-goo (Yu Oh-seong) leaves home for Seoul at an early age and spends much of his youth as a penniless drifter, working mediocre jobs and butting heads with local thugs. Until finally, after noticing an advertisement around the city, he joins Dong-a Gym, hoping to put his fighting talent to good use and become a Champion boxer. Through much determination, Kim manages to climb the ranks in the lightweight division. His rather simple personal life seems on the rise, as well, when he meets pretty secretary Lee Kyeong-mi (Chae Min-seo) from the office above the Gym, and the two become engaged. But with his fame comes a heavy price when he enters the match for the World Title.

( My Review - Spoiler Warning! )

"Toimarok"
Release Information:
Directed by: Park Gwang-chun
Released by: Polivision Pictures (1998)
Running time: 98 minutes
Genre: Satanic Horror | Fantasy | Action
Purchase: YesAsia | AsianDB

Synopsis
In 1978 police S.W.A.T. teams storm an abadoned building only to find themselves arriving too late to a Satanic bloodbath. Almost all the members of a cult group are found dead in a mass suicide, except for a pregnant woman laying on a ritual alter. Rushed to the hospital, the attending doctor is unable to save her, but her baby is saved through a hurried C-section. With the tragedy of this terrible day haunting his mind, Doctor Park Shin-boo (Ahn Seong-gi) leaves the medical field to seek solice and understanding in religion.

Twenty years later, the child that Doctor Park saved is now a well-adjusted young woman, working as an automobile mechanic and sharing a flat with her overzealous best friend. But beautiful Seung-hee (Chu Sang-mi) knows nothing of her past, her parents, or why she was raised an orphan. She does know, however, that suddenly eerie things begin to happen around her. She's miraculously saved, seemingly by chance, when support lines break and a car she'd been working on comes crashing down, and soon she's striken by horrible visions.

During this time, the police are investigating a string of mysterious murders, and the only evidence linking the corpses is their missing ring fingers. With an aloof detective and a prying reporter on the case, the only one who seems to understand the current events is Father Park. Now a Catholic Priest, Park is released from his services at the Church for his continual foretelling of Satan's coming. Father Park believes that the ritual that began twenty years ago is about to be finished, and if the Rite of Blood be sealed, than Satan would enter the world.

With the help of his ward, the child-sage Jun-ho (Oh Hyeon-chul) and Spirit Warrior Hyun-am (Shin Hyeon-jun) Father Park is determined to protect Seung-hee at all costs, for she will be the sacrificed vessel to embody Satan's spirit in place of her mother.

( My Review - Spoiler Warning! )

"Baramui Paiteo"
Release Information:
Directed by: Yang Yun-ho
Released by: iVision Entertainment (2004)
Running time: 120 minutes
Genre: Martial Arts | Drama | History | Romance
Purchase: YesAsia | AsianDB

( Trailer )

Synopsis
Choi Baedal is a young man with ambition, brawn and a quiet, solitary intellect; the story begins with a short glimpse of how Baedal started in his endless search to be great, going from a young street boxer to joining the Japanese Air Force in 1938 during the end of WWII. At the aviation base, he and other Korean men refuse to participate in a kamikaze mission and is therefor discharged and shunned - but not before getting beaten down by proud General Kato Harada, himself a seventh-level Black Belt and indignant to Baedal's self-proclaimed Chosun Martial Arts. With the end of the war, he muses on a liberated, yet devastated Korea, comparing it now to his shattered spirit. Staying in Japan, he scrounges a living with his wartime friend Chun-bae, selling a gambling Pachinko Machine.

Japan is now brimming with American soldiers and Yakuza, and Baedal and Chun-bae manage to get on the wrong side of a local Yakuza. Despite his best efforts to fight back, Baedal is beaten again and humiliated, and it is at this moment he is reuinted with his family's old friend and his own fighter-idol, Beom-soo. As a guard for a circus troupe, Beom-soo knows the Yakuza all too well, and fights them off, keeping Baedal and Chun-bae under his care.

Pleaing for help, Baedal begins his karate training once more under the tutledge of Beom-soo. He pratices the moves and ideology he learns by seeking to mete out justice to those wrong-doers in the streets. Thus he saves pretty geisha Youko from being raped by Americans, and a romance blossoms. But when his sensei is killed by the Yakuza and Baedal takes his revenge upon the criminals, Baedal is not only ashamed of his hasty, bloody and vain actions, but tenfold determinded to hone his craft. So he escapes to the solitary mountains for gruesome physical training, in the likeness of legendary swordsman Miyamoto Musashi.

Prefecting his martial arts and his body, Baedal then returns to civilization and immediately scours the country looking for a fight, trying to find anyone skilled enough to match him. Soon every dojo and Black Belt is defeated by his powerhouse karate, and even The New York Times is quoted as calling him "The Toughest Man Alive". News of this soon reaches Kato, his old advesary who is now the head of the Martial Arts Union and insulted by his popularity. The Japanese are, of course, unwilling to admit defeat to a Korean, and claim his martial arts is just thug-fighting. Baedal must prove to the world that he is the greatest fighter, all the while telling his love Youko that he is always afraid ...

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"Sei Yeseu"
Release Information:
Directed by: Kim Seong-hong
Released by: Cinema Service (2001)
Running time: 105 minutes
Genre: Suspense | Thriller
Purchase: YesAsia | AsianDB

Synopsis
When Kim Jung-hyeon (Kim Joo-hyeok) finally sells his first book to a publisher, he feels his luck is changing for the better. Using his new funds to buy a car, he decides to treat his wife, Yoon-hee (Chu Sang-mi), to a much deserved, romantic weekend getaway. On the road to Sokcho Beach, the couple take a moment for coffee in a rest stop, and while waiting, Yoon-hee meets the eyes of a creepy induvidual sitting alone, and staring intently at her. Although he leaves as soon as Jung-hyeon returns, Yoon-hee cannot shake the uncomfortable feeling.

It seems that brief moment sets a cruel destiny for the three as Jung-hyeon accidentally hits the stranger pulling out of the parking lot. With regret and much unease, the couple allow the man, never introduced but called simply M (Park Jung-hoon), to bum a ride with them to the beach. And during the road trip, M breaks his discontent, rude silence by stating to them that he's decided to kill them! While Jung-hyeon demands he get out of their car on the stop, the apathetic stranger remains blunt by telling him it was merely a joke. Yoon-hee insists they not make his bizarre attitude any worse by letting it go, but as soon as they reach Sokcho Beach Jung-hyeon throws him out, angrily admitting he did not want the oddball to know where they were staying.

This sets the stage for an eccentric, dangerous cat-and-mouse game between the couple and the stranger, their celebration shattered as M continues to tail them from the beach to Kyeong-ju, psychologically toying with Jung-hyeon and playing on Yoon-hee's fears. He tells them his game will only end if they kill him, or - when forced into a corner at a most critical and deadly time - if Jung-hyeon just says yes to his twisted demand to ...

( My Review - Spoiler Warning! )

"Ar Pointeu"
Release Information:
Directed by: Kong Soo-chang
Released by: Cinema Service (2004)
Running time: 106 minutes
Genre: Horror | Thriller | War
Purchase: YesAsia | AsianDB

( Trailer )

Synopsis
During the Vietnam War, a group of South Korean soldiers mysteriously go missing outside Ho Chi Minh City, in an area known as R-Point. Only the commanding officer is found, babbling incoherently and practically mutilated, swearing there were no VietCon in R-Point. Even more disturbing, even after months had passed, Chosun headquarters still receive radio transmissions from the men asking for help. In order to clear it up, stoic Lieutenant Choi Tae-in (Kam Woo-seong) is recruited to head a platoon into R-Point to find any evidence of the missing soldiers or the whereabouts of the transmissions.

The men for the platoon are recruited from a squad a week away from being sent home, lured with guaruntees that R-Point is a 'no combat' zone, and that the mission is to only last seven days and upon completion, the men will be immediately flown home without having to wait on a carrier ship to return. The eight soldiers who sign up are casual on the mission, but a little leery of their two commanding offiers - one who is trusted as a warrior but known for his heartlessness in combat, and quiet, brooding Tae-in who has a reputation for getting his men into deadly situations.

And so the hopeful group enter their designated area, only to immediately be attacked by a lone gunsman - who turns out to be a young Vietnamese girl that they leave wounded and for dead. Coming upon a gravestone written in Chinese characters, the soldiers learn that their destination is cursed, and that "those with blood on their hands can never turn back". By nightfall, the men become more and more tense, sharing stories of their commanders and the fate of the missing men.

By morning, the platoon find themselves before a huge, decrepit building, empty save for a few leftover odds and ends. They set up base inside the building, and begin combing the area for any sign of the missing soldiers. Things start to turn ugly when each of the ten men start to see strange things, and believe in the worse. An old shrine area is found, where incense is mysteriously kept burning by an unknown force. And their radioman begins to receive trasmissions from a French soldier, on the same night as American soldiers chopper in to check the batteries in the building - American soldiers who also warn them of the dangers. Soon the men are at each others' throats, believing in the curse of R-Point and wondering if they'll actually make it home alive.

( My Review - Spoiler Warning! )

"Anakiseuteu"
Release Information:
Directed by: Yu Yeong-shik
Released by: Cineclick Asia (2000)
Running time: 108 minutes
Genre: Action | Historical | Drama
Purchase: YesAsia | AsianDB

( History Notes )

Synopsis
In 1924 Shanghai, young Sang-goo (Kim Im-kwon) is about to be publicly executed by the Japanese after finally being caught for torching Japanese-owned buildings and killing soldiers to avenge his parents who were massacred in Kyongshin. He is rescued by four members of an anarchist group who then take him under their wing. Taught how to fight by the group's charsmatic, reckless loner Seregei (Jang Dong-gun) and humble yet royal-born Yi-keun (Jeong Jun-ho), how to avenge and love life by hot-tempered Dol-suk (Lee Beom-soo) and how to realize their ideals through righteous politics by cold-blooded, sauve Han (Kim Sang-jung), Sang-goo soon becomes another renegade fighter of the Korean provisional government.

In a city where many foreign armies are stationed and Korean peoples are sheltered by the French and like-minded Chinese, the Anarchists are able to hob-nob with the elite and manage to secure means of gathering information against the Japanese imperialist forces. At the glamorous Red Rose Cafe, Sang-goo finds the group is not without their internal problems; Seregei suffers in silence from an opium addiction, which gets him into trouble with the drug dealers about town, all the while Yi-keun is in love with Seregei's adoring girlfriend, nightclub singer Kaneko (Ye Ji-won). Dol-suk has a tendancy to draw unwanted attention to himself through his brash mouth and flying fists, all the while Han seems to be playing the game on another level. Sang-goo, on the other hand, becomes infatuated with the naive and sweet Ling-ling (Zhu Ying) a bubbly Chinese girl whose grandfather runs a photography shop and does all the archival photos of the Anarchists.

When they are confronted by freedom-fighter Ahn Chang-ho to stay their terrorist attacks, the men are disinclined to agree with his thoughtful ideology: for revolution through enlightenment, not the barbaric terrorism with which they go against the Japanese. Even though Ahn fears their brazen attempts will force the Japanese to hold tighter rein on the city and go after every Chosun-born, the group decides to continue their bombings and assassinations.

One such assassination is to target the man that stole Russian funds from their underground forces, which sends Seregei and Sang-goo on the hunt. The killing is successful, but much to their dismay, Seregei disappears - taking the reclaimed money with him. The provisional governement brings him back by force, tortures him and finally decides to put him to good use on a kamikaze mission. This sets off a horrible chain reaction that forces the group underground, fearing that their cover has been blown against the Japanese and Chinese governments hunting them, and that their own boss may forsake them.

( My Review - Spoiler Warning! )

"Muyeonggeom"
Release Information:
Directed by: Kim Yeong-jun
Released by: CJ Entertainment (2005)
Running time: 98 minutes
Genre: Historical Adventure | Martial Arts | Fantasy
Purchase: YesAsia | AsianDB

( Trailer )

Synopsis
It is the time of the fall of Balhae, in 926 A.D. when Keoran (Khitan) defeated the once great kingdom. In the aftermath of the invasion, the remnants of the Balhae people continue to fight in hopes of revival. However, the scattered government and civilian militia are having little effect on their own. What's more, the Dongranguk of Keoran send out their skilled assassin team known as the Killer-Blade Army to kill off the last of the Royal Family. After the murder of Crown Prince Dae Seo-hyeon at the hands of the Killer-Blade's leader, Gun Hwap-yeong (Shin Hyeon-jun), the Balhae government laments for a sovereign to unit the resistance force and reclaim the kingdom.

That sovereign is the last prince, Dae Jeong-hyeon (Lee Seo-jin) living in exile for the past 15 years in the outskirts of the fallen kingdom. Upon discovering his whereabouts, Balhae sends the beautiful lady-warrior Yeon Soha (Yun So-yi) to retrieve the Prince and escort him back. Dongranguk also learn of the Prince and send the Killer-Blade after him.

Soha finds Jeong-hyeon, now living as the street-smart pawn-broker Sosam, but the young deposed monarch has no desire to have Soha as his bodyguard, nor returning to rescue Balhae. Despite his lack of enthusiasm and king-like qualities, Jeong-hyeon decides he has little choice in the matter when the Killer-Blade Army appear, threatening his sole rule, which is survival. But Soha firmly believes in the Prince, even offering memories of his dignified past, and with assassins at every turn, Jeong-hyeon learns to recover his old beliefs - that the sword is meant to protect something valuable, not to merely kill.

( My Review - Spoiler Warning! )

Also known under the translated titles Flying Blade, Flying Warrior, Warrior of Virtue or Dances with Swords. Released in Japan as Out Live. Kanji title 飛天舞.

Release Information:
Directed by: Kim Yeong-jun
Released by: Tae Won Entertainment (2000)
Running time: 118 minutes
Genre: Romance | Martial Arts | Historical Drama
Purchase: YesAsia | AsianDB | Amazon

( Trailer )

Synopsis
In 14th century China around the end of the Yuan Dynasty, the country is engulfed in racial conflicts bewteen the ruling Mongols, the Han, and Koryo (ancient Korean) migrants. But for two children who meet by chance, none of their differences matter. Jinha is an orphan living in the forest with his aging uncle who is strictly teaching him an ancient, secret form of martial arts, Bi Chun Shin Gi. Sullie is the illegitimate daughter of a Mongolian general. They meet as children in the meadows outside Habook Fortress, and spend their innocent youth together in careless regard to their families' heritage. Soon, a romance blossoms.

But the childhood sweethearts are not meant to be when Sullie's mother dies, and her father, Taruga, immediately whisks her away to be wed to the Mongolian nobleman Namgung Junkwang in order to form an alliance. She only has time to break a jade pendant, giving one half to Jinha to symbolize their broken love, and the star-crossed lovers make a promise to meet outside a pagoda in Sohung where Sullie vows she will wait for him every full-moon day. Though desperate to follow her, Jinha's ill uncle, Kwakjung, is adament that he remain and fulfill his training.

But one night Kwakjung is attacked by several assassins who want to know the secrets behind the Bichun Arts. Jinha saves him, but mortally wounded, Kwakjung reveals to the young man that he is not his birth uncle, but a student of his real father, the Koryu lord Yu, who was massacred by the Mongols for the Bichun Arts. Pleading with Jinha to forget Sullie, he entreats him to continue his studies and exact venegence upon the Mongols who murdered his father and mother. Yu Jinha goes to Sohung to find the Mongolian lords and the love he can't forget.

It is here he is also attacked by mercenaries who want his secrets, but Jinha is saved by none other than the nobleman, Junkwang. The two form a friendship in that brief day, but Jinha is in for a greater surprise when he finds that Sullie is engaged to Junkwang, who is shamelessly in love with her as well. General Taruga now finds Jinha a threat that cannot be left alive, and Junkwang will do anything to win Sullie's hand. They ambush Jinha, who is challenged by Junkwang. Though unable to outperform the Bichun skills of the Yu son, Taruga has him pierced by many arrows. Believing her true love is gone forever, Sullie has no choice but to wed the Namgung Lord.

Ten years pass. Miraculously spared from death, Jinha is reborn as Jahalang, the Hans hired assassin. With his Bichun-trained Ten Black Swordsmen, Jahalang and the Hans invade the Mongolian palaces and kill everyone in their path. Ill-fated to meet now on separate warring sides, Jinha faces Sullie again as a cold-blooded killer. Heedless to his duty and having not so forgotten their bond of love, Jinha spares her life, even going so far as to rescue her son, Namgung Sung (Bang Hyoup) from the Han assassins. Destined to a doomed love, Jahalang must face a betrayal from the Hans, who are only interested in his skills to drive out the Mongols and take rulership. Now Jinha must confront his past enemies, and Jahalang's supposed allies, in order to fulfill his families revenge, yet never truly giving up hope of being with Sullie.

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Also known as The Book of the Three Han or Prince of the Legend

"Jumong"
Release Information:
Directed by: Kim Geun-hong & Lee Joo-hwan
Released by: MBC (2006)
Running time: 60 minute episodes (81 episodes completed)
Genre: Historical Drama | Action-Adventure | TV
Purchase: YesAsia | AsianDB

Overview
Follow the journey of the legendary hero, Jumong, whose story as the founding king of Goguryeo (one of the Three Kingdoms that made up ancient Korea) is shrouded in many traditional myths and historical power struggles.

( Episode One )

( Episode Two )

( Episode Three )

( Episode Four )

( My Review - Spoiler Warning! )

"Geoulsokeuro"
Release Information:
Directed by: Kim Sung-ho
Released by: Cinema Service (2003)
Running time: 113 minutes
Genre: Psychological Thriller | Supernatural Horror | Crime Mystery
Purchase: YesAsia | AsianDB

( Trailer )

Synopsis
Welcome to Dreampia, an elaborate and enormous department store that has seen it's share of misfortune. After a terrible fire closed its doors for a year, the store is about to celebrate it's grand re-opening - until an employee finds herself after hours, alone in the dark. And in front of a mirror. Even though her terrifying death leads the police to assume suicide, Dreampia now has more to worry about than the picket lines of the family members seeking compensation for the fire victims. After several odd deaths occur within the building, it may have to face another victim seeking revenge.

Woo Young-min (Yu Ji-tae) is the Chief of Security for Dreampia, having acquired the job from his uncle, the owner of the store. Young-min is a quiet man running from his past, after a hostage incident went terribly wrong and forced him to resign as a detective in the police unit. Guilt-ridden over the death of his partner, he is driven to seek solace in lonely nights drinking away his remorse and self-pity. But when three people die mysteriously on his watch, Young-min is caught between wanting to escape his former mistakes, and needing to prove himself through unearthing the criminal behind these bizarre murders.

However, when the homicide division delves deeper into their investigation, Young-min finds himself working next to Detective Ha Hyun-soo (Kim Myeong-min) a close friend of his dead partner who has no sympathy for Young-min's unfortunate circumstance. With bitter resentment, Ha holds onto his grudge - as well as the thought that these new murders were possibly an inside job. Suspicions soon swing to Young-min, who finds himself beginning to believe in the unbelievable after he encounters the introverted Lee Ji-hyun (Kim Hye-na) a strange woman who warns him, "Everything is not what it seems".

( My review - Spoiler warning! )

Also known as Record or literally If Shot, You'll Die ('Shot' as in of a video camera).

"Tchighimyeon jugneunda"
Release Information:
Directed by: Kim Gi-hun
Released by: Sam Woo Communication (2000)
Running time: 90 minutes
Genre: Horror | Thriller | Crime
Purchase: YesAsia | AsianDB

Synopsis
Sung-wook (Lee Yeong-ho) is a pathetic teenager with bad allergies, and is cruelly picked on at school for being a wuss. He has no friends, and the only one to understand his situation is a teacher (Ahn Jae-hwan) who shares many of the same characteristics. However, when popular Eun-mi (Han Chae-young) and Hee-jung (Park Eun-hye) invite him to spend summer break at a cabin in the woods along with the rest of their friends, Sung-wook is excited to think things might actually get better.

However, playboy Hyun-joo (Kang Seong-min) and badass Kyung-sik (Bae Dal) have other ideas. Based on a money-making scheme from their appointed cameraman, Jong-ho (Jeong Min), and aided by Eun-mi, the four decide to play a prank on Sung-wook by producing their own little snuff film. But the staged attack goes horribly wrong when they accidentally kill poor Sung-wook. The five teenagers hide the video tape on the body and decide to cover their tracks and forget the whole life-changing ordeal.

Now a year later, the tape turns up online and the five college-bound friends find themselves running for their lives as a mysterious masked figure is out for revenge!

( My Review - Spoiler Warning! )

"Cheongpung myeongwol"
Release Information:
Directed by: Kim Ui-seok
Released by: Sinabro Entertainment (2003)
Running time: 102 minutes
Genre: Historical Drama | Martial Arts | Action
Purchase: YesAsia | AsianDB

( Trailer )

Synopsis
In 17th century Korea, a coup d'etat succeeds in placing a new king on the throne, putting the nation under hard times; rebels openly attack the king and his ministers, and the head of the Royal Guards, Yun Kyu-yeop (Cho Jae-hyeon) garners for himself the title of "Human Butcher" because of his no-nonsense form of killing. Still, Kyu-yeop's only wish is for a peaceful country, as instilled by his training as part of the righteous "Sword in the Moon" army - which was massacred during the coup. Finding himself on the opposite side of his old Master's teaching, Kyu-yeop tries hard to follow his old beliefs, even if it means defending the pompous new sovereign.

Soon the Guards are engulfed in a sudden mystery as the king's council members end up dead, one after the other, in an execution fashion. Realizing the assassin is no mere rebel, Kyu-yeop keeps a careful watch over the remaining ministers, only to discover the assassin is none other than Choi Ji-hwan (Choi Min-soo), his best friend from Sword in the Moon - a man he thought he himself had killed.

Now Kyu-yeop must face the sins of his past as he tries to catch the friend he betrayed, all the while held back by the reins of the king's Ministers and his own volition to do the right thing.

( My Review - Spoiler Warning! )

"Sseuri: Gieok"
Release Information:
Directed by: Kim Jee-woon
Released by: CJ Entertainment (2002)
Running time: 40 minutes
Genre: Horror | Mystery
Purchase: YesAsia | AsianDB

( Trailer )

Synopsis
Finding the frightening truth in fragments of Memories. A well-to-do salaryman struggles with telling others about the night his wife left him, and he wonders if something happened to her. Meanwhile his wife finds herself alone, laying in the middle of a strange road, suffering from amnesia and unable to remember the circumstances leading up to that point.

( Cast List )

( My Review - Spoiler Warning! )

"Bunshinsaba"
Release Information:
Directed by: Ahn Byeong-gi
Released by: Buena Vista (2004)
Running time: 92 minutes
Genre: Horror | Supernatural Thriller
Purchase: YesAsia | AsianDB

( Trailer )

Synopsis
Having moved from Seoul to the small town where her mother grew up, quiet Yu-jin (Lee Se-eun) finds herself harrassed for being the outsider in school. After suffering enough abuse, she and her two shy, loner friends decide to seek retribution by placing a curse on their tormentors. Late in the evening, the three stay in school to hold a séance to summon the spirit of a teenager who died 30 years ago. Yu-jin even finds her accursed desk in storage, seat number 29. She warns her friends not to open their eyes lest the spirit enter their bodies, and begins the chant to start the ouija-like session. But in the end, Yu-jin is the one to open her eyes ...

The next day at school, Yu-jin discovers that the first girl on their list has committed suicide inside her homeroom, placing a bag over her head and then lighting it on fire. She was found sitting in seat number 29. Yu-jin and her friends are certain the Bunshinsaba Curse has begun, and soon the other names on their list of tormentors are crossed off as each in turn committs suicide in the exact same way.

At the same time, a new teacher joins the staff, Lee Eun-ju (Kim Gyu-ri) who transfered at her own request from Seoul. But her introduction to her first class proves an ill warning as her roll call produces the name Kim In-sook in seat number 29, which causes hysterics from the class - Kim In-sook (Lee Yu-ri) is the dead teenager from 30 years ago. Yu-jin is even more disturbed as she sees the summoned spirit about the new teacher.

As the throes of the Bunshinsaba Curse unfold, Yu-jin and Ms. Lee find that they may be connected to the ghost of Kim In-sook in more ways than one, and that the Curse may not end at merely a few students' deaths ...

( My Review - Spoiler Warning! )

"Pon"
Release Information:
Directed by: Ahn Byeong-gi
Released by: Buena Vista (2002)
Running time: 104 minutes
Genre: Horror | Supernatural Thriller | Mystery
Purchase: YesAsia | AsianDB | Amazon

( Trailer )

Synopsis
Ji-won (Ha Ji-won) is an investigative reporter who starts receiving threats after her breaking story into an underage sex scandal goes public. Emails and phone calls soon materialize as a stalker hounding her steps. Although the tough-as-nails reporter is little phased by the danger, she still decides to "disappear" for a time; her close friend, Ho-jeong (Kim Yu-mi) and her husband Chan-hun (Choi Woo-je) allow her to stay at their country home which is under rennovations. Ji-won's last step is to change her cell phone number.

But it's not long before her phone begins to register unusual messages, and during an outing with Ho-jeong and her young daughter, little Young-ju (Eun Seo-wu) answers Ji-won's ringing cell - and immediately begins screaming frantically. Afterwards, the child starts acting strange, even threatening to her mother. Even more bizarre, Ji-won begins to feel haunted by something more sinister than her stalker. Deciding to investigate by starting with the previous owner of her new phone number, Ji-won discovers there may be more to this mystery than a few evil calls.

( My Review - Spoiler Warning! )