Disaster Film Scores Big at the Korean Box Office… and is Now Playing in American Cinemas Author: Kim Song-ho Source: Official Korean press materials, JS Media & Entertainment, various Official Movie Site: HAEUNDAE Korean box office figures courtesy of the Korean Film Council Special Thanks to Paul Shin SPOILER WARNING: This article contains plot details and images from a new movie.

Located on the southeast tip of the Korean peninsula is the international city of Busan. A popular vacation spot on the East Sea coast, Busan City`s Haeundae Beach draws more than one million visitors every year. Man-shik (Sol Kyung-gu), a native of Haeundae, lost a co-worker to a tsunami during a deep-sea fishing trip four years ago. Since that day he has never returned to sea. He now leads a simple life running a small seafood restaurant and is preparing to propose to his longtime girlfriend, Yeon-hee (Ha Ji-won). Man-shik’s brother Hyoung-shik (Lee Min-ki) works as a member of the Coast Guard. One day, he rescues Hee-mi (Kang Ye-won), a female college student from Seoul who immediately and aggressively comes on to him. While these everyday domestic affairs unfold, geologist Kim Hwi (Park Joong-hoon), an expert on tsunami research, discovers the East Sea is showing signs of activity similar to the Indian Ocean at the time of the 2004 tsunami. Despite his warnings, the Disaster Prevention Agency states that Korea is in no harm of being hit. When Kim discovers a mega-tsunami is headed straight for the Korean peninsula, he quickly heads down to Haeundae. There he meets up with his ex-wife Yu-jin (Eom Jeong-hwa), who is organizing a cultural event, for the first time in seven years. He also sees his young daughter Ji-min (Kim Yoo-jung) who is unaware that he is her father. Eventually, Kim gets a call about a deadly oncoming wave, but with only ten minutes to spare! While the vacationers and citizens of Busan are enjoying a peaceful, hot summer day, a mega-tsunami is headed straight for Haeundae at 500 miles per hour...

Korea`s First Large-Scale Disaster Film

HAEUNDAE, Korea`s first full-scale disaster movie, opened on July 22. The biggest movie in its native country for three consecutive weeks, HAEUNDAE has been clearing away rival Korean movies and Hollywood blockbusters such as HARRY POTTER AND THE HALF-BLOOD PRINCE and GI JOE: THE RISE OF COBRA from the box office charts. With favorable reviews from both professional critics and audiences, HAEUNDAE is very likely to become the winner of the summer box office battle in Korea. The title of the movie refers to a district in Busan Metropolitan City, the largest port city in Korea, which is located on the south-easternmost tip of the peninsula. It is also a name of a famous beach in the city. Haeundae Beach, which commands fantastic scenery, is visited by more than 10 million vacationers, about one-fifth of the whole population of the country, every summer. The movie depicts a mega-tsunami that strikes the beach, and a group of people who struggle to survive the disaster. It was directed, produced and co-written by Youn Je-kyun, who made such hit movies as MY BOSS, MY HERO (Doosabooilche, 2001) and SEX IS ZERO (Saekjeukshigong, 2002) and features an all-star cast that includes Sol Kyung-gu, Ha Ji-won, Park Joong-hoon, Eom Jeong-hwa, Lee Min-ki and Kim In-kwon. Hans Uhlig, co-founder and CEO of Polygon Entertainment, the Marin County, CA-based production company, handled the film’s CG visual effects. He also participated in the killer wild boar movie, CHAW, which opened just a week before HAEUNDAE.

Production of the movie began on August 18, 2008 in Haeundae, Busan and wrapped on December 17 of the same year in San Francisco, CA. While post-production was commencing, distributor CJ Entertainment went out to sell the movie to international markets. On February 10, CJ announced that the company had pre-sold HAEUNDAE to the Czech Republic, Turkey, Malaysia and Singapore during the European Film Market, which took place at the 59th Berlin International Film Festival from February 5 to 15. Subsequently at Hong Kong Filmart (March 23 to 26), CJ succeeded in pre-selling the movie to eleven more countries, including Thailand, India, Indonesia, Philippines, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, Vietnam, Mongolia and Brunei. Also, the movie is slated to open in China later this year. The promotional campaign for HAEUNDAE kicked off full throttle in May. On May 6, the first teaser poster was released, followed by the second teaser poster and teaser trailer six days later. However, the teasers received a mixed response, with the trailer especially not well received by audiences. It mainly focused on the disaster itself, and was made with the same style as any Hollywood disaster movie. At the end of the trailer, where a giant tidal wave strikes against a couple of skyscrapers and knocks them down before revealing the title of the movie, many audience members burst into laughter. Was the title, HAEUNDAE, too much of a household name for a disaster movie? To make matters worse, Sony Pictures released a somewhat excessive, but very spectacular trailer for Roland Emmerich`s upcoming, full-scale disaster movie 2012 right after the HAEUNDAE preview. Word of mouth spread that, compared to 2012, HAEUNDAE was just puny.

Then, a new promotional clip began to play on the silver screen. The 30-second clip showed some making-of footage and claimed that HAEUNDAE was not a carbon copy of Hollywood movies, but a movie which would strike the chord of the Korean audience— a disaster movie only Koreans can make. It was a 180-degree turn from the teaser trailer.

The response was again split. Some people were persuaded and began to anticipate the movie`s `Koreanized` touch. But others vetoed the new promotional method. They especially didn`t like the way that the campaign was made to appeal to the Korean people`s sense of patriotism; a tactic that had stirred considerable controversy two summers ago when DRAGON WARS (D-War, 2007) was released. Shim Hyung-rae, the director of DRAGON WARS, and Showbox, the distributor, promoted their movie in a similar— if much more excessive—way; claiming that Shim had not been welcomed by the mainstream Korean movie industry but he tried harder to export his works than any Korean filmmakers. As DRAGON WARS played in Korean cinemas, there was much denunciation where people argued that the movie mainly attracted an audience not by its quality but by a cheap advertising stunt which stimulated the patriotic sentiments of the masses. Although the movie was heavily bombarded by critics (both Korean and foreign) it fared unexpectedly well in Korea. When the new promotional clip of HAEUNDAE was released, there were similar remarks from audiences. It seemed that the future of HAEUNDAE was not that bright, so Director Youn tried to debunk those accusations. In the June 18 press conference, he said, “In HAEUNDAE, there are no heroes. Personally, I think of the formula for Hollywood disaster movies like this: a hero comes, stops the disaster and saves people. I would rather tell a heartwarming story of everyday people, and I think that is a difference between Hollywood disaster movies and HAEUNDAE." This point was emphasized more dramatically when the main poster and trailer was released on June 22. Both highlighted the `human drama` out of `disaster`. And on July 2, a special poster was released where eight of the main characters were prominently featured. On the following day, the official website opened, marking the climax of the promotional campaign.

Box Office Success

Choi Man-shik takes his love of baseball a little too far. Photo courtesy of CJ Entertainment. © 2009 JK Film / CJ Entertainment

HAEUNDAE was finally revealed when the first press screening was held on July 16. It was an encouraging event for the makers of the movie because, surprisingly, critics gave it mostly positive reviews. They said that HAEUNDAE was a well-made disaster movie and there were many points in the story where the audience could feel empathy for the characters. Several advanced screenings for general audiences followed, and word of mouth was overwhelmingly good. Because of the positive buzz, CJ Entertainment moved up the release date from July 23 to 22. On the 21, CJ held a special showing of the movie at the Korea Meteorological Administration. Once released, HAEUNDAE began to wash over the Korean cinemas like the tsunami itself. On the opening day, HAEUNDAE swallowed up 185,000 admissions from 546 screens across the country. It was a Wednesday, but analysis indicated that many family members came to the theater as the period was during school holidays. The power of the tsunami increased on the weekend, as after 4 days the accumulated admissions of the movie went up to 1.35 million, from the expanded 705 screens. It was the quickest record this year, as it broke 1 million mark a day faster than Park Chan-wook`s vampire hit THIRST (Bakjwi, 2009), which was released this past April. HAEUNDAE became the No. 1 movie at the Korean box office, accounting for 58.7% of all ticket sales its opening weekend.

After 13 days, the admissions broke the 5 million mark with 5.22 million tickets sold. Note that THE HOST (Gwoemul, 2006), currently the highest ranking movie on the all-time Korean box office list, took only 9 days to break 5 million mark and ended up with 13.01 million admissions. On August 24, CJ announced that HAEUNDAE finally passed 10 million admissions, 33 days after the release date. According to CJ Entertainment`s data, the movie raked up 10.07 million admissions from 437 screens across South Korea. And according to the KOFIC (Korean Film Council) box office chart, as of August 30, admissions have reached 10.65 million. That makes HAEUNDAE the fifth Korean movie which surpassed 10 million admissions in 3 years. Currently the movie is No. 5 at the all-time Korean box office chart, after THE HOST, THE KING AND THE CLOWN, TAEGUKGI and SILMIDO. All-time Korean Box Office Top 10 (as of August 30, 2009 / legend: admission) 1. THE HOST (Gwoemul, 2006) 13.1 million 2. THE KING AND THE CLOWN (Wang-ui namja, 2005) 12.3 million 3. TAEGUKGI: THE BROTHERHOOD OF WAR (Taegukgi hwinalrimyeo, 2004) 11.74 million 4. SILMIDO (2003) 11.8 million 5. HAEUNDAE (2009) 10.65 million 6. DRAGON WARS (D-War, 2007) 8.42 million 7. SCANDAL MAKERS (Gwasok seukaendeul, 2008) 8.29 million 8. FRIEND (Chingoo, 2001) 8.18 million 9. WELCOME TO DONGMAKGOL (2005) 8 million 10. MAY 18 (Hwaryeohan hyuga, 2007) 7.3 million Some much less positive news came on August 29, when it was reported that the digital file of the whole movie has been leaked online. The following day, CJ Entertainment and JK Film jointly released a statement stating that both companies will seek out the person or organization that initially circulated the HAEUNDAE file and will demand the authorities pursue all necessary legal action.

Several Korean news sites reported that the digital file is somewhat different from the final cut because it was prepared in early July, when the press screening was due. The Korean Public Prosecution Office stated that it will apprehend the leaker as soon as possible. The happening is a matter of great concern for the producers, as they fear that the availability of illegal downloads will harm overseas sales of the movie. With the surprisingly successful result of HAEUNDAE, director Youn Je-kyun`s next movie is reportedly on the fast track. A Korean news site called `edaily` reported that Youn is currently preparing "a movie in which all dialogue is spoken in English." He said that there was no finished script, and no scope of production, and it`s not even a disaster movie like HAEUNDAE. But he added that there would be a large amount of CG mixed with drama. He also said that the movie was not only for the domestic market, but was planned to be released internationally. He expected pre-production would start later this year, and to release the finished movie in 2011. Keen genre fans may recall that, along with HAEUNDAE, Youn was once attached to a movie called MINING AREA 7 or SECTOR 7 (Je chil gwanggu). The project, a vehicle for Ha Ji-won, was about a deep sea monster that runs amok in an oil prospecting ship. It was going to be shot in New Zealand, but JK Film has not yet moved from development to production, probably because of their focus on HAEUNDAE. Now that HAEUNDAE has been released and proved to be a success, one can expect this project may finally see the light of day in the foreseeable future. Youn did not specify if the `English-spoken movie` mentioned above is MINING AREA 7; so it is uncertain that he does consider it as his next project. Another Korean news site, `The Hankyoreh`, reported that Youn is considering three upcoming projects, including MINING AREA 7. The other two are a sci-fi melodrama and a family fantasy. Time will tell which movie he chooses to make next.

HAEUNDAE Gets U.S. Theatrical Release

Several Korean news sites— including Sports Khan, The Joongang Ilbo, and Joynews 24— broke the news that HAEUNDAE would receive a limited theatrical release in the U.S beginning in late August. With the exception of the occasional festival screening, it is extremely rare for a Korean film to play in America while it is still showing in its native country... and an actual U.S. theatrical run even more so. This past February, the Ridgefield, New Jersey media company JS Media & Entertainment signed an agreement with AMC Theatres and Loews Cineplex Entertainment to show first-run Korean films (with English subtitles) at cinemas in the United States. In 2009 they have released several Korean movies through AMC theaters, among them OLD PARTNER (Wonangsori, 2008), MY GIRLFRIEND IS AN AGENT (Chilgeup gongmuwon, 2009), PRIVATE EYE (Geurimja salin, 2009) and PORTRAIT OF A BEAUTY (Miindo, 2008). HAEUNDAE is the latest film JS Media release, and will be screened in at least ten major American cities over the next two months. Paul Shin, president of JS Media & Entertainment, told SciFi Japan that the incredible box office success of HAEUNDAE in Korea prompted him to get the film in American theaters so quickly. Piracy and illegal downloading of movies are a major concern— particularly for foreign films that may take months or even years to be released in the U.S.— so JS Media hopes to offset that by bringing HAEUNDAE to cinemas as it is meant to be seen.

On August 28, the film— marketed as HAEUNDAE (TSUNAMI)— opened at the AMC Ridgefield Park 12 in Ridgefield, NJ; the AMC Colonial 18 in Atlanta, GA; and the AMC Grapevine Mills 30 Dallas, TX. The movie is also currently playing at the Korean M Park 4 Theatre in Los Angeles. Paul Shin was happy to report that HAEUNDAE had a "fantastic weekend since opening on 8/28," with the film pulling in strong numbers. It will next open at the Bay Terrace 6 in Queens, NY on September 4. On September 11, HAEUNDAE will expand to the Village 7 in New York; the Metreon in the San Francisco Bay Area of CA; the Alderwood in Seattle, WA; and the AMC Northbrook in Chicago, IL. The AMC Theatres Cupertino Square 16 near San Jose, CA has been added for September 18, and in the coming weeks the movie will also play venues tba in Hawaii and elsewhere. Following HAEUNDAE, JS Media & Entertainment has an aggressive release schedule for the remainder of 2009 that includes TAKE OFF (Guggadaepyo), the true story of Korea`s first ski jump team that is also currently the top movie at the Korean box office. JS Media plans to expand their releases to additional American cities in 2010 and, if business stays strong, will look into picking up first-run Japanese and Chinese films as well. JS Media currently has an official Korean language website. Paul Shin said an English language version of the site should be online later this year.

HAEUNDAE Review

HAEUNDAE consists of half drama (with heavy doses of comedy) and half tsunami action. Unlike what director Youn Je-kyun said, the movie is faithful to the formula of Hollywood disaster movies. However, there are enough distinctions and convictions that differentiate HAEUNDAE from other foreign genre movies, such as recognizable and sympathetic character types who speak with heavy dialect, geographical features like Busan and several situations familiar to the Korean masses. Youn, who previously made jopok (Korean criminal syndicate) comedies and sex comedies, is a bit too lighthearted at times in HAEUNDAE, but still skillfully makes the viewers feel sympathy for the characters in the movie. The comedy elements, especially, works so well that viewers laugh or clap with the fictional characters while it lasts, unaware of approaching catastrophe. They range from sheer slapstick to subtle punchlines of dialogue only people who understand both the standard Korean language and also Busan dialect can enjoy. This variety of comedy makes the viewers frequently crack up. Consequently, they come to accept a disaster movie, a genre they have not experienced before, without any rejection.

The tsunami sequences are not on par with Hollywood blockbusters. Some effects shots show obvious incongruity between live action and CG. But knowing that the movie was made with a budget about 1/10 that of average Hollywood large-scale movies, the overall quality of visual effects is fine. Because the audience is so connected with the characters, when the tidal wave strikes and break their everyday lives into pieces, the viewers hold their breath. The catastrophe makes the characters lose their beloved ones or reconcile their formerly shattered relationships. Sometimes the wave sweeps away a newly created relationship. This time, the director is right. There are no heroes in this tsunami for sure. We only have normal people in an extreme situation. Not a person in this world can control or perfectly stop a tsunami alone. They just do nothing but wait until the catastrophe is over and done. Though a bit cliche-ridden, HAEUNDAE is a fairly enjoyable disaster movie. While watching it, I myself witnessed the viewers laugh and cry and grow angry with the characters. It was the liveliest and the most honest response a movie could create or hope for this summer. I consider HAEUNDAE to be a worthwhile effort, not because it is Korea`s first disaster movie, but it made the viewers really pleased.

HAEUNDAE

Production Company: JK Film, CJ Entertainment Distributor: CJ Entertainment International Sales: CJ Entertainment Cast Sol Kyung-gu as Choi Man-shik (a Haeundae beach shop owner) Ha Ji-won as Kang Yeon-hee (an owner of an unlicensed sashimi restaurant) Park Joong-hoon as Kim Hwi (a geologist) Eom Jeong-hwa as Lee Yu-jin (a coordinator of an international event, Hwi`s ex-wife) Lee Min-ki as Choi Hyoung-shik (a lifeguard, Man-shik`s younger brother) Kim In-kwon as Oh Dong-choon (a local scamp, former elementary schoolmate of Yeon-hee) Kang Ye-won as Kim Hee-mi (a university student, Hyoung-shik`s love interest) Song Jae-ho as Eok-jo (an enterpriser) Kim Ji-young as Keum-ryeon (mother of the Choi brothers) Kim Yoo-jung as Ji-min (daughter of Hwi and Yu-jin) Yeo Ho-min as Jun-ha Ji Dae-han as Sang-ryeol Staff Director: Youn Je-kyun Producer: Youn Je-kyun Screenplay: Youn Je-kyun, Kim Hwi Cinematographer: Kim Young-ho Lighting Director: Hwang Soon-wook Production Designer: Hwang In-joon Set Decorator: Kim Jung-gon Property: U Gyeong-hui Makeup: Ha Sang-hee, Ko Yu-kyoung, Choi Sang-duk, Chae Young, Kim Bo-kyoung Wardrobe: Kim Jeong-won Editor: Shin Min-kyoung Music: Lee Byoung-woo Visual Effects: Hans Uhlig (Polygon Entertainment) Special Effects: Hong Jang-pyo, Effect Storm Special Makeup: Namu Workshop, Yoo Tae-young Production Year: 2009 Country of Production: Korea Running Time: 120 minutes Language: Korean Gauge: 35mm Color: Color Format: HD Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1 Sound Mix: Dolby Digital Production Budget: 1.6 billion KOR (approximately $12.94 million US) Release Date: July 22, 2009 (Korea), August 28, 2009 (US)

For more information, videos, and images from HAEUNDAE, please see the previous coverage here on SciFi Japan:

• Principal Photography Begins on Korean Tsunami Movie HAEUNDAE
• HAEUNDAE Wraps Filming
• HAEUNDAE Teaser Posters and Trailer