#Han Jin-won

[adamwatchesmovies]

Parasite (2019)

Parasite is the kind of wholly original film that’s impossible to predict. It also has a lot to say about our world, which means there’s no way you’ll be able to catch everything on a single viewing. With plenty of dark laughs, the kind of suspense that will have your stomach in knots, an ending that sticks with you and masterful direction by Bong Joon-ho, it’ll knock you right off your feet - even if you’ve seen it before.

Kim Ki-taek (Song Kang-ho), his wife Chung-sook (Jang Hye-jin), their son Ki-woo (Choi Woo-shik) and daughter Ki-jeong (Park So-dam) make ends meet by snatching up whatever prospect comes their way. One day, Ki-woo finds a job tutoring Da-hye (Jung Ji-so), the daughter of the wealthy Park family. Sensing an opportunity, the Kims scheme, lie and fake their way into the household.

Part of what makes Parasite such a wild ride is that you never know who you should be cheering for or what the movie wants you to feel. When we first meet the Kim family, they’re scrambling around their dump of a semi-basement apartment looking for a free wifi signal so they can get a shipment of pizza boxes sent to them. Folding the boxes is how they’ll pay for their next meal. When they submit their work, part of their earnings is deducted because 25% of the boxes are badly folded. There are four family members. A quarter of the boxes are no good. Hmmm… There’s something funny and pathetic about the way they manage to screw up such a simple, honest job but excel at conning their way into the Park household. The more elaborate and extravagant their scam becomes, the more they thrive. You know it’s wrong, but there’s something "admirable" about their resourcefulness and determination. You don’t feel too bad for the Park family. Aside from Ki-jeong, everyone is actually doing the job they’ve been hired to do and there’s no way she’d get away with spinning her bullshit into dollars if Mrs. Park wasn’t such a dummy.

Then, your feelings about the Kims start changing. It’s one thing for them to exploit the Parks, whose wealth is wasted on them but this quest to get all of them on the same payroll means taking away jobs from other people. As we eventually find out, the current housekeeper of the Park family, Gook Moon-gwang (Lee Jung-eun) REALLY needs this job they’re stealing from her. As the film progresses, Bong Joon-ho shows us how the lap of luxury has made the Parks into ugly, entitled snobs. The more we see of the parents (Lee Sun-kyun and Cho Yeo-jeong), the less we like them. The thing is, the Kims are not much better. They’re also recklessly gobbling up the jobs in their employer’s household at the expense of everyone else. The people currently employed? they’re obstacles to be toppled over, not people with similar plights to their own. They never have a goal to make enough money to move into a nicer home. Their goal becomes to have THIS home, a building they know is too much for two parents and two children. While all of these people are on opposite ends of the financial spectrum, they both disregard others equally.

It would be criminal to give away the big surprises that come at the end of the film - and you probably wouldn’t believe me if I told you what they were anyway. Revealing all the intricacies of the scam would be just as heinous. The proof is that even upon multiple viewings, it’s a horrifying delight to see it play out the way it does. I do want to discuss the very very last scene, however. In the film, it’s presented as hopeful, a long-term strategy Ki-woo will follow to get the family what they desire the most. It all seems good but when you take a step back, you realize how hopeless it is. That final moment is about how wide a gap is between the rich and the poor. It's not about leaving us with a smile on our faces. It’s not as clear as it would be in a documentary but it’s a thousand times more impactful - and entertaining.

Parasite is mesmerizing, the kind of film you want to watch over and over so you can fully appreciate everything. It’s full of surprises, masterfully directed and certainly as good as everyone is saying it is. (Original Korean with English Subtitles, July 25, 2022)

[addictivecontradiction]

기생충, 2019

[movies-and-theater]

Parasite (2019)

Director Bong Joon-ho

[thebestestwinner]

Top two vote-getters will move on to the next round. See pinned post for all groups!

[lunaylin]

BEYOND EVIL | EP8

[bucktommmy]

Isn't this obvious? You committed a crime, so you must pay for it. Inspector Han Ju Won.

BEYOND EVIL (2021)

[frances-and-the-moon]

More Beyond Evil + Viki comments

[girltwinkabigail]

i am sooo normal about lee dongsik having the universal donor blood type

i am sooo normal about han joowon having the universal recipient blood type (literally the opposite)

I AM SOOO NORMAL ABOUT KIM SOOJIN DOING ALL OF THIS ON PURPOSE

[cuthalions]

Why are you doing this to me? Why are you doing this to me, then? Why won’t you leave me alone?

Shin Ha-kyun as Lee Dong-sik & Yeo Jin-goo as Han Joo-won BEYOND EVIL | 괴물 (2021)

[tiffanylamps]

[gabrielokun]

[rachelfelicityart]

Lee Dongsik in Beyond Evil

Find more art in progress and shop links here

[addictivecontradiction]

기생충, 2019

[offbeatcappuccino]

the impossible heir episodes 1-4 ramblings

Last week was an eventful one for Lee Jae Wook, Hong Su Zu, and Lee Jun-young's The Impossible Heir. Not only was last week the premiere of the series, but Dispatch, the popular Korean tabloid, released "earth-shattering" news that Lee Jae Wook was dating aespa's Karina. This garnered controversy and scrutiny towards the show and could have contributed to its ratings. However, as a self-professed Lee Jae Wook fan, I tuned in to watch the show last week regardless of the news. The Impossible Heir is arguable Lee Jae Wook's first "adult" show. Much of his prior work involved dramas that catered to the YA audience and for the first time we see him essaying a far more mature and morally dubious character as Han Tae Oh. While the show is marketed as having three leads, in my opinion, Tae Oh steals the show.

In the first episode, we are introduced to a teenage Han Tae Oh. The son of a murderer, for the sake of his and his mother's safety, he's forced by himself to a small town. Unlike his peers, he has no legal guardian and rents a rundown house in the village. Before the first day of school, he manages to provoke the ire of Kang In Ha, the illegitimate son of the Kang-Oh chaebol family. While the two boys are initially at odds with each other and even end up having a dramatic fight in the school lunchroom, the episode ends with an unlikely partnership- Tae Oh offering to use his intelligence to help In Ha achieve the impossible- the opportunity to be the next heir of Kang Oh Group over his two legitimate half brothers.

Over the next three episodes, we see Tae Oh and In Ha grow up as college students and later employees at Kang Oh. During their college years, we see a blossoming friendship between the two as In Ha becomes Tae Oh's only companion during their time at Hankuk University. Alongside their internal scheming to take over Kang Oh, we see glimpses that their friendship is no different from any other peers. They have birthday meals, eat lunch together in the cafeteria, and drink late night beers from the convenience. In Ha constantly chides Tae Oh for working too many part time jobs, but remains the dutiful wealthy friend that is willing to book a tutoring gig for Tae Oh or drop him off at work to help him financially stay afloat. The dynamics between both men take a sharp turn with the introduction of Na Hye-Won, who both male leads end up falling for though she ultimately ends up dating In Ha, mainly because she views In Ha as her key to overcoming poverty and acquiring wealth and prestige.

Just as episode two ends, the show takes another five year time leap and both men are working for Kang Oh group. Hye-Won also becomes what appears to be a staff member for a political party. The three remain as co-conspirators in their efforts to take over Kang Oh Group. Of the three, perhaps the person who gets closest to the chairman, Kang Jun Mo, is Tae Oh, who ascends to the role of his personal secretary. Tae Oh becomes Jun Mo's greatest asset and trusted confidante. Through his role, he starts to move the game pieces that would create a clear path of succession for In Ha.

The weakest aspect of the The Impossible Heir 's writing has to be Na Hye Won's character arc. Nothing about her frankly makes any sense. During the second episode, we are introduced to Hye Won as both In Ha's and Tae Oh's classmate and Tae Oh's neighbor. While its obvious that Tae Oh may have developed feelings for Hye Won due to their chance encounters, In Ha's feelings arise out of nowhere- to the point that it almost feels like he only wants Hye Won because he wants to take a person Tae Oh cherishes from him. However, if this was the case, the intensity of love that In Ha develops for Hye Won makes no sense. Furthermore, its puzzling to see the two boys so readily accept a stranger as a partner in developing and implementing a plan they have spent years working on together. Exacerbating this poor placement of the female lead is her poor portrayal by Hong Su Zu. Hong Su Zu's acting has been widely criticized by the Korean audience since the airing of the second episode. While I could see others' complaints last week, it did not initially bother me as much. However, the poor acting has become glaringly apparent in this week's episodes. If Hye Won is supposed to be who she's written to be- a morally grey character who is willing to do whatever it takes, including playing with someone's feelings, to escape her present circumstances, I would expect her to be desperate, shrewd, cunning, manipulative, and charismatic. However, the version that is presented to us is so blasé, stoic, and mediocre. Hong Su Zu's expressions and delivery are extremely limited- it's hard to swallow the thought that she's supposed to be a crucial main character.

Conversely, Tae-Oh's arc is the strongest point in the writing. As audience members, we are gripped by the elusive question- what does Tae-Oh get from this partnership? Why is he fiercely loyal to In Ha? and Does he truly want the best for his friend or is he planning on throwing him under the bus? Lee Jae Wook excels in playing the ambitious yet guarded Tae Oh, who becomes the "catalyst" of the story. Without Tae Oh, there's no plot. While Hye Won is a disappointing female lead, I was surprised by the chemistry between Tae-Oh and Choi Hee Jin's Kang Huiju, the younger half sister of Kang In Ha. Huiju develops an obsessive never-ending one-sided crush on Tae Oh when he becomes her short-lived mathematics tutor. At first glance, it's easy to brush her off as a minor character, but the amount of screen time she receives on the show suggests otherwise and Choi Hee Jin excels in playing the "petulant spoiled brat who surprisingly may be the only person in her family with a conscience".

If Tae Oh is a volcano patiently waiting to erupt at the right time,Huiju is a raging forest fire traveling at 100 mph. Her love and desire for Tae Oh is all consuming and destructive- something she wholeheartedly embraces but Tae-Oh fears. When Huiju's spontaneity comes to a head with Tae Oh's restraint, we see an electrifying chemistry between the two and we see another dimension of Tae Oh. While he can be avoidant and harsh, he is also gentle, kind, and protective. Its this internal push and pull that makes their relationship worth exploring.

One of the highlights of the latest episode was when Huiji confronts Tae Oh in a parking garage adamantly professing that she will force her parents to agree to their marriage and that she "will protect" Tae-Oh. I found her confession interesting on many levels because so far, all of Tae-Oh's relationships are exploitative. The other characters including his closest friend In Ha are only concerned about what Tae Oh can do for them and this is the first time we see someone offering to do something for him with no reciprocity. It's unclear if Hui Ju is a red herring or someone who will grow to be an integral part of Tae-Oh's life. As a viewer, I have to say that this relationship is one of the main draws to the show and is something that the writers utilize appropriately.

Overall, Impossible Heir is a Malthusian and Machiavellian drama that wholeheartedly embraces the capitalistic jungle. It may not be a show that fans of prior Lee Jae Wook's dramas will love, but it still deserves to be given a chance.

Rating: ⭐️ ⭐️.75/5

[quarter-lif3crisis]

Happiness (2021)

[lunaylin]

pathetic wet man of the year 2021: han juwon