I Came from Busan

2009 South Korean film

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

* September 2009 (2009-09) (San Sebastian)
* 1 July 2010 (2010-07-01)

Running time

| 83 minutes
Country| South Korea
Language| Korean

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.

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

[edit]

Eighteen-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

[edit]

The 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]

1. ^ "I Came from Busan, 2009". Daum Movies. Retrieved 5 August 2021.
2. ^ Jeong, Hee-chul (19 March 2009). "Yeongdo Bridge I Came from Busan". Film Busan Magazine.
3. ^ Cho, In-ji (26 August 2009). "New Park Ha-sun's film 'Yeongdo Bridge', invited to San Sebastian Film Festival". Nate News.
4. ^ Holland, Jonathan (1 October 2009). "I Came from Busan". Variety.

## External links

[edit]

* I Came from Busan at IMDb
* I Came from Busan at HanCinema