I Came from Busan (Korean: 영도다리; RR: Yeongdo Dari), also known as Yeongdo Bridge, is a 2009 South Korean film written and directed by Jeon Soo-il. It tells the story of teenaged In-hwa, who gives her newborn baby up for adoption but soon regrets the decision and embarks on a journey to find the child. The Yeongdo Bridge is a key symbol in the film; In-hwa collapses on the bridge before giving birth, and the site remains a prominent part of the backdrop for the story. The Yeongdo Bridge, which connects Yeongdo to Busan, is a place where families and friends separated during the Korean War would wait to reunite; it is also a place that symbolizes the pain of loss.[1] In-hwa is also an orphan who remembers growing up at an orphanage, which plays a part in her decision to find her child. The film focuses on the lives of young and underprivileged people who live amidst a turbulent backdrop.
| I Came from Busan | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Jeon Soo-il |
| Screenplay by | Jeon Soo-il |
| Produced by | Seo Young-Woo |
| Starring | Park Ha-sun Kim Jung-tae Kim Min-jae Yoo Soon-chul |
| Distributed by | Mountain Pictures |
Release dates |
|
Running time | 83 minutes |
| Country | South Korea |
| Language | Korean |
The film was made on a limited budget and shot mostly in Seoul, with the later scenes filmed in Chamonix, a mountainous region in eastern France.[2]
Plot
editEighteen-year-old In-hwa gives birth after collapsing on Yeongdo Bridge. Her best friend, Sang-min, persuades her to give the baby up for adoption, but In-hwa soon regrets the decision. She returns to the adoption center to ask for her baby. In-hwa is repeatedly turned away, but eventually obtains the address of her baby's adoptive parents, who live overseas. She embarks alone on a trip to France in search of her child.
Cast
edit- Park Ha-sun as In-hwa
- Kim Jung-tae as Sang-mi
- Kim Min-jae as Woo-chan
- Yoo Soon-chul as old man
Release and reception
editThe film was selected to participate in the 2009 San Sebastian Film Festival[3] and was released on July 7, 2010. Variety Magazine described I Came from Busan as a despair-ridden story that is "grimly repetitive." [4]
References
edit- ^ "I Came from Busan, 2009". Daum Movies. Retrieved 5 August 2021.
- ^ Jeong, Hee-chul (19 March 2009). "Yeongdo Bridge I Came from Busan". Film Busan Magazine.
- ^ Cho, In-ji (26 August 2009). "New Park Ha-sun's film 'Yeongdo Bridge', invited to San Sebastian Film Festival". Nate News.
- ^ Holland, Jonathan (1 October 2009). "I Came from Busan". Variety.