London Korean Links

Covering things Korean in London and beyond since 2006

Ryu Seung-wan is October’s featured director at the KCC

Ryu banner

This month’s director at the KCCUK is Ryu Seung-wan – nicely timed to coincide with the screenings of his latest movie Veteran at the London East Asian Film Festival and the London Korean Film Festival. Die Bad is particularly recommended as a debut feature.
As usual, registration is required via the KCC website.

Die Bad (+Intro by Nikki Lee)

죽거나 혹은 나쁘거나, 2000, starring Ryoo Seung-wan, Park Sung-bin, Ryoo Seung-bum.
Film genre: Drama, Action
Cert 18 | 94 mins
KCCUK, 08 Oct 15 7:00 pm

Die Bad

Die Bad, a debut feature, is a hard-boiled action movie in four parts each with their own style and uniqueness.

In part one, ‘Rumble’, Suk-whan and Sung-bin, both teenagers, become involved in a pool house fight against rival students. During the fight Sung-bin accidentally kills one of the teenagers.

Part two, ‘Nightmare’, takes place 7 years later with Sung-bin being released from prison. He arrives home only to find out that nobody welcomes him back. Furthermore, he is haunted by the ghost of the man he killed. In despair, Sung-bin finds himself becoming involved in the world of organised crime.

Part three, ‘Our Contemporary’, takes on a mockumentary style with humorous talking heads between Suk-hwan, now a cop and Sung-bin’s thug of a boss.

Lastly there’s part four: ‘Die Bad’ with the two old friends, now opposite sides of the law clashing against each other.

No Blood No Tears

피도 눈물도 없이, 2002, starring Jeon Do-yeon, Lee Hye-yeong, Jeong Jae-yeong.
Cert 18 | 120 mins
KCCUK, 22 October 2015 7:00 pm

No blood no tears

In his first major studio film, Ryu Seung-wan continues with the theme of opposites attract when two women from different sides of the track band together to overcome their troubles.

Gyung-sun is a washed-up cab driver who has been trying to go straight after years in trouble with the law as a big-time safecracker. Soo-jin wants to be a famous singer, but lives the life of a trophy girlfriend to her vicious gangster boyfriend. An unlikely situation cause these two different women to meet where they plan a daring solution to both their problems that will escalate and threaten the wrath of many powerful and corrupt people around them.

A surprising and gritty noir-like film with future star and award winning actress Jeon Do-yeon, last seen in 2010’s Closing Gala film, The Housemaid.