Yoo Seon-dong (유선동)

A man's place? It's on a quiz show

Source | 2006/07/18 | Permalink |

The film "Mr. Housewife" ("Quiz King") is rooted in the two main subjects that have dominated Korean cinema for decades ― family and masculinity.
Jin-man (Han Seok-Kyu) is a professional from a prestigious family who becomes a house-husband after he is fired for leading a strike. He is happy about his new domestic role until he loses money the couple had been saving for his father-in-law's surgery. He decides to revive his family's fortunes by appearing on a TV quiz show for housewives, produced by the broadcasting company his wife works for as a show host.
The dilemma deepens, however, as Jin-man, who kept his house-husband role a secret from his conservative father, shows up on television. His wife is furious and ashamed that he told the world about his situation, though she has no basic problem with the couple's division of labor.
The film takes humorous digs at the public conception of house-husbands (there are over 140,000 house-husbands in Korea, according to a 2005 surv...| More

Donning an Apron, Han Seok-kyu Cooks Laughter

Source | 2005/09/22 | Permalink |

by Mi-Seok Koh

"Quiz King" (Directed by Yoo Seon-dong, starring Han Seok-kyu, Sin Eun-kyeong) is a comedy, and the catchphrase for the movie reads: "A male housewife's delightful coming-out".

As can be inferred by the phrase "coming-out", this movie comes with the premise that it is an embarrassing secret for a man to stay at home. The main character, Oh Jin-man, betrays this premise and appears on a TV quiz show to reveal his identity to the world. He suffers a brief period of despair when his wife leaves home because of her embarrassing husband, but the couple end up living happily ever after.

Han Suk-gyu is natural and comfortable in his role, starring as Oh Jin-man, a former elite corporate worker who has been a homemaker for six years. His sudden transformation, wearing mascara, fake eyelashes and high heels, is hilarious. Shin Eun-gyung stars as his wife, a master of ceremonies at a broadcast station.

Jin-man enters a mutual-aid union hoping to receive more interest, ...| More