The Foul King
| The Foul King | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster | |
| Hangul | 반칙왕 |
| Hanja | 反則王 |
| Revised Romanization | Banchikwang |
| McCune–Reischauer | Panch'ikwang |
| Directed by | Kim Jee-woon |
| Written by | Kim Jee-woon |
| Produced by | Lee Mi-yeon |
| Starring | Song Kang-ho Jang Jin-young |
| Cinematography | Hong Kyung-pyo |
| Distributed by | Mirovision |
Release date |
|
Running time | 112 minutes |
| Country | South Korea |
| Language | Korean |
| Budget | US$1.6 million |
The Foul King (Korean: 반칙왕; RR: Banchikwang) is a 2000 South Korean sport comedy-drama film, written and directed by Kim Jee-woon. It was Kim's second feature-length film after The Quiet Family. Like the director's debut film, The Foul King also stars Song Kang-ho, this time as an incompetent bank clerk who takes up a career in professional wrestling, adopting the moniker "The Foul King" in the ring.[1]
Plot
[edit]Bank teller Im Dae-ho leads a monotonous life at the bank counter, devoid of anything exciting. He frequently arrives late, has poor performance metrics, and is constantly scolded by the deputy manager, often falling victim to his headlock attacks. To make matters worse, the coworker he secretly admires doesn't even spare him a glance. Feeling dispirited, Dae-ho unexpectedly finds an escape in the Jang Chil-sam Pro Wrestling Gym.
As a child, he admired the rule-breaking wrestler Ultra Tiger Mask, and now, desperate to find a way out of his boss's headlocks, he decides to learn wrestling. The gym owner, hesitant at first, accepts Dae-ho when looking for an opponent to face the skilled wrestler Yoo Bi-ho in a match. By night, Dae-ho transforms into a rule-breaking wrestler, gradually regaining his lost enthusiasm. Eventually, he steps into the ring for a fierce showdown against Yoo Bi-ho.
Cast
[edit]- Song Kang-ho as Im Dae-ho
- Jang Jin-young as Jang Min-young
- Park Sang-myun as Tae Baek-san
- Kim Soo-ro as Yoo Bi-ho
- Jang Hang-sun as Jang Gwan-jang
- Jung Woong-in as Choi Du-sik
- Shin Goo as Im Dae-ho's father
References
[edit]- ^ 소박한 자아 찾기의 과정 [The process of simple self-seeking]. Cine21 (씨네21) (in Korean). 2000-02-01. Retrieved 2023-05-03.
External links
[edit]- The Foul King at IMDb
- The Foul King at the Korean Movie Database (in Korean)
- The Foul King at HanCinema
- Darcy Paquet's review at koreanfilm.org
- The Foul King, a wrestling comedy
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- 2000 films
- South Korean sports comedy-drama films
- 2000s sports comedy-drama films
- Professional wrestling films
- Films directed by Kim Jee-woon
- Films with screenplays by Kim Dae-woo
- Cinema Service films
- 2000s Korean-language films
- 2000 comedy-drama films
- 2000s South Korean films
- South Korean film stubs
- 2000s comedy-drama film stubs