Jin Kwang-gyo (진광교)

Park Yong-woo gives it all in a convoluted thriller

Kyu Hyun Kim (qhyunkim)

Well, here is another Korean movie that you suspect that the title (the Korean-language moniker, too, is the English phrase "Beautiful Sunday") was meant to be heavily ironic, given that it involves a police detective who gradually sinks into the cesspool of corruption and moral confusion in order to pay medical bills for his comatose wife, and an uber-creep who rapes a woman and then marries her later, hiding his true identity. "Beautiful Sunday", indeed.

Detective Kang (Park Yong-woo, "My Scary Girl", "Blood Rain") is making deals with scumbag drug lords, marked for death by his arch-enemy Sang-tae (Kim Dong-ha), falling asleep at a stakeout, and otherwise unraveling at the seams. His coll...More

Jin Kwang-gyo, director of the film "Beautiful Sunday": What was the most difficult scene to film in "Beautiful Sunday"?

"I'd say it was the scene where I meet Nam Goong-min at the end of the film. Although it was the most important scene, where the intensity of emotion reached its climax, it was shot during the early stages of filming. I wasn't sure whether or not it was right".

Seok Myeong-hong, CEO of Cineline, the production company of "Beautiful Sunday": Have you ever regretted rejecting an offer to star in a film?

"Many times. Some films became very successful while others didn't. I don't want to name the titles. Some people call it destiny which repeatedly torments actors. There is no correct answer and regretting does no...More

Jin Kwang-gyo's "Beautiful Sunday" pretends to be a detective-mob thriller, delving into an underground power struggle, and with police colluding with gangsters, drug trafficking and conspiracies. But the real message is so inadequately delivered that audiences leave the theater feeling more bewilderment than sympathy.

The movie starts with a seemingly routine drug bust at an anonymous port, and Kang (Park Yeong-woo), a police detective, is the point man. Rolling his eyeballs wildly, he sips a bottle of liquor before racing frantically to the crime scene.

What follows is a series of fist-fighting and chase scenes, with kicks and punches flying all over the place. A big chunk of the illegal drugs, however, ends up in the wrong hands - it turns out that Kang has a secret deal w...More

By Kim Tae-jong
Staff Reporter

When actor Park Yong-woo showed up last Sunday at an indoor set in Taejon, he looked different. Gone was the soft image he had shown in previous roles. Instead, he was slimmer, which gave a sharp and sad impression, and most noticeably, he wasn't wearing his trademark warm smile.

For his new film "Beautiful Sunday", Park said he had to get rid of his "good guy" image.

"When a person is pushed to an edge, they become keen and lose weight. I wanted to deliver such impression", Park said Sunday during a news conference followed by the shooting of the film at the set.

"I think my face doesn't give audiences a strong impression, so I tried to lose weight to give my face a sharper outline", he added.

He lost about eight kilograms for the film by adopting an intensive diet and also because of his demanding schedule. His schedule was so tight that he had to get an injection of Ringer's solution, or ...More