2024-07-21 16:56:09
The main character, Eun-young (played by Lee Mi-yeon), is assigned to her alma mater as a teacher exactly 10 years after graduating from high school. The teachers welcome Eun-young, who came to the school not as a student but as a colleague. However, Eun-young feels bitter on the inside. This is because her friend Jin-ju (played by Choi Kang-hee) died in an accident on the school grounds 10 years ago. Eun-young, who was unable to courageously protect Jin-ju, who was ignored and assaulted by her classmates and teachers because she was the daughter of a shaman, begins an uncomfortable life as a teacher. However, soon after Eun-young takes office at her alma mater, a mysterious incident occurs at the school. Two teachers die in a brutal and suspicious manner. In addition, when a student who was always second in the school commits suicide on the school grounds, the school atmosphere becomes even more unstable and gloomy. Eun-young begins to question the deaths of the teachers who were brutally killed and found dead, and begins to investigate the truth behind the incident. And Eun-young finds out that the deaths that occur at school are related to her friend Jin-ju who died 10 years ago. Eun-young, who discovered the shocking fact that Jin-ju’s spirit, who could not leave the school, had been attending the school every year, confronts Jae-yi (played by Choi Kang-hee), a student who has Jin-ju’s appearance. Jae-yi tries to get rid of Eun-young who has uncovered the truth of the incident, and her friend Geo (played by Kim Gyu-ri) appears in front of Jae-yi and earnestly persuades him. Geo-yi asks Jae-yi to leave the school, and so Jae-yi, who is Jin-ju’s spirit, leaves the school.
◆ Commentary:
Park Ki-hyung’s debut and representative work. Written by In Jeong-ok, Park Ki-hyung. Starring Lee Mi-yeon and Kim Gyu-ri. A horror film with a creepy premise that the vengeful spirit of a female student who died with resentment has been wandering around the class for 10 years. It received good scores from both critics and box office due to its well-written and flawless script and horror devices. It exposes the reality of schools where the relationship between teachers and students is evaluated solely based on grades or family circumstances through the medium of ‘fear’. This drew strong protests from conservative figures in the education community, and the Korean Teachers’ Union even suggested that the film be stopped from being screened. However, it received support from critics who said, “It correctly pointed out a critical message about the reality of education and directed it cleverly,” and it was a box office success upon its release. It attracted 620,000 viewers in theaters in Seoul and 1.5 million viewers nationwide, ranking 2nd in the 1998 Korean box office rankings. Then, “Whispering Corridors 2” (1999), “Whispering Corridors 3 – Fox Stairs” (2003), “Whispering Corridors 4 – Voice” (2005), and “Whispering Corridors 5” (2009) were produced. In 2020, the sixth story, “Whispering Corridors 6: Alma Mater” was produced.
<여고괴담>Set in a girls’ high school, it deals with the realistic concerns and issues of teenagers such as grades, friendship, and family, and has established itself as a representative Korean horror film brand. At the 7th Icheon Chunsa Film Festival and the 22nd Golden Cinematography Awards, Kim Gyu-ri won the Best New Actress Award, and at the 36th Grand Bell Awards, Lee Mi-yeon won the Best Supporting Actress Award. Since then, Park Ye-jin, Lee Young-jin, Gong Hyo-jin, Song Ji-hyo, Park Han-byeol, Jo An, Kim Ok-bin, Seo Ji-hye, and Cha Ye-ryun have made their debuts or become famous through the “Whispering Corridors” series.
◆ director:
1996 mid-length novel <과대망상>He was recognized for his talent through various film festivals such as the Clermont-Ferrand International Film Festival, the Hong Kong International Film Festival, the Montegatini International Short Film Festival, and the Busan International Film Festival. In 1998, <여고괴담>It made a brilliant debut, achieving the highest box office performance in the first half of that year, and catching two birds with one stone: critical acclaim and box office success. Also <여고괴담>The brilliant success of also gave birth to a new concept of the horror series in Korea for the first time. Director Park Ki-hyung’s horror is not a brutal horror with blood splattering and human bodies falling off, but a detailed and eerie horror that slowly suffocates. In addition, with detailed descriptions and meticulous planning, the audience experiences tragic horror through directing that seems to quietly permeate everyday life. <아카시아> The curse of the acacia tree that fell on a happy family was shockingly and horribly depicted. His subsequent works include: <폭력써클>2007 <사선에서>2012 TV drama <홀리랜드>2015 <태양의 도시> There is a back.
EBS’s ‘Korean Film Special’ program, where you can see the past, present, and future of Korean films, airs every Sunday at 10:40 PM.
Reporter Kim Kyung-eun Photo = EBS Korean Movie Special
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2024-07-21 16:56:09