Lee Beom-su Movies

Two isolated people find tremendous solace in one another but must confront future tragedy hand-in-hand in this passionate Korean-language melodrama. K, a radio producer, embarked on a life of loneliness after his family abandoned him; Cream, a song lyricist, was orphaned when her entire family perished in a brutal automobile accident. The two lovers find an instant solution to life's problems in one another, but K learns that he is terminally ill and has less than 200 days to live. He thus provides for Cream by finding a lover for her - a sweet-natured dentist named Joo-hwan who can care for and protect the young woman after K is gone. ~ Nathan Southern, All Movie Guide

Jo Jin-gyu returns as director for the second sequel to his 2001 action-comedy hit Jopok Manura. Aryong (Shu Qi) is the daughter of Lim (Ti Lung), a high-ranking crime boss in the Hong Kong triads. A gang war has broken out, and Aryong's life is put in danger when she's framed for the murder of a rival triad chief, a crime she didn't commit. Worried about his daughter's safety, Lim sends Aryong off to South Korea, where Gi-cheol (Lee Beom-su), a local underworld figure affiliated with one of Lim's old friends, is to see to her safety. Aryong and Gi-cheol don't get along at all, despite the best efforts of translator Yon-hi (Hyeon Yeong) to buffer the insults they toss back and forth. However, in time they become close after Aryong and Gi-cheol are forced to do battle with gangsters sent to kill her, and Aryong tries to unravel the mystery of her long lost mother. Jopok Manura 3 (aka My Wife Is A Gangster 3) also stars Oh Ji-ho and Jo Heui-bong. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

South Korea's real-life efforts to stem over-population in the early 1970's go under the satirical microscope in this comedy. In 1971, citing economic and environmental concerns, the South Korean government established an official family planning initiative in a bid to halt population growth. However, some parts of the country embraced this notion with more enthusiasm than others. Park Hyun-joo (Kim Jung-eun) is a birth control counselor who is sent to the farming village of Yongdu, where the birth rate has been rapidly expanding; however, as a modest unmarried woman, she's not comfortable explaining contraception on the frank terms her new clients would be most likely to understand. After a series of misunderstandings, respected village leader Byun Suk-gu (Lee Beom-soo) agrees to help Hyun-joo sell the villagers on birth control in exchange for the government canceling payback on some large improvement loans. Hyun-joo agrees to engineer the deal under the condition the birth rate remains zero in Yongdu; however, one of the town's elders (Byun Hee-bong) is determined to sire a male heir, and he isn't about to let something like economic recovery get in his way. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Na-nan (Jang Jin-yeong of The Foul King) is nervously approaching 30, unhappy and uncertain about her future. Her boyfriend, realizing that they are just going through the motions, breaks up with her. Her patronizing boss takes credit for her excellent work and has her transferred to the corporation's restaurant division, where one of her responsibilities is to enthusiastically greet patrons at the local Chili's. Her friends, promiscuous playgirl Dong-mi (Eom Jeong-hwa of Marriage Is a Crazy Thing) and the shy, bookish Joon (Lee Beom-su) share an apartment, but there's no romance between them. Joon is seeing a younger woman who strings him along, and he resents Dong-mi's endless procession of lunkheaded boyfriends. Dong-mi has her own problems at work and is eventually driven to take drastic action against her lecherous boss. Na-nan, unhappy at her job, takes notice when Su-heon (Kim Ju-hyuk) begins frequenting the restaurant, always with a special request for her attention. But he doesn't make a move. One night, Na-nan's oafish boss stops by Chili's to "boost sales" and casually insults her, prompting Su-heon to defend her, making his feelings known. Their relationship develops slowly. Na-nan begins to fall for him, only to learn that he's being transferred to the United States and wants her to come with him. Meanwhile, Joon gets dumped and falls into the arms of Dong-mi. They spend a drunken night together that threatens to destroy their friendship. Singles, based on a novel, was directed by Kwon Chil-in, and was shown at the 2004 New York Korean Film Festival. ~ Josh Ralske, All Movie Guide

Getting into organized crime isn't easy -- as two criminally minded teens discover in this South Korean comedy from first-time director Cho Min-Ho. Hired as lookouts for a drug deal, wannabe gangsters Ki-tae and Chul-soo find themselves in hot water when the deal goes bad and the money goes missing. Desperate to get back the cash at any cost, the bumbling duo thinks they may have a fail-proof plan when Chul-soo comes into possession of a big bag of "white powder," and with the help of sympathetic prostitute Meg, Ki-tae and Chul-soo set out to unload the powder and score the cash that will get them back in good standing with the mafia. What the trio doesn't know is that the begrudged baddies have sent out muscle man Min-chul to settle the score -- and when Min-chul is on a mission, revenge is always taken personally. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide