Gabi (film)

Gabi (Korean: 가비; RR: Gabi) is a 2012 South Korean film starring Kim So-yeon, Joo Jin-mo and Park Hee-soon. It follows an ostensible assassination plot of King Gojong (1852-1919), using coffee brewed by royal barista Tanya. The plan is masterminded by Sadako, a Joseon woman with adopted Japanese nationality, and aided by Ilyich, Tanya's lover.[1][2]

Gabi
Hangul가비
Revised RomanizationGabi
McCune–ReischauerKabi
Directed byChang Yoon-hyun
Produced byJung Tae-woon
Choe Jun-yeong
Lee Je-hyeon
Screenplay byKim Eun-jung
Based onRussian Coffee
by Kim Tak-hwan
StarringKim So-yeon
Joo Jin-mo
Park Hee-soon
Music byWon Il
CinematographyOh Hyun-je
Edited byNam Na-yeong
Production
company
Trophy Entertainment
Ksure
Cinema Service
Distributed byCinema Service
Release date
  • March 15, 2012 (2012-03-15)
Running time
115 minutes
CountrySouth Korea
LanguageKorean

Inspired by conspiracy theories about Gojong and the king's well-known love of coffee, the movie's title Gabi is a turn-of-the-century Chinese-character transliteration of "coffee." The film is based on author Kim Tak-hwan's historical fiction novel Noseoa Gabi ("Russian Coffee").[3][4]

Plot

After his wife Empress Myeongseong is assassinated by the Japanese army and under threat of coup d'etat, Gojong the 26th king of Korea's Joseon Dynasty (Park Hee-soon) briefly seeks refuge at the Russian consulate in 1896. While he is there, he tastes and falls in love with a bittersweet drink that had yet to gain popularity in his homeland: coffee.

Upon returning to the throne, King Gojong hires the beautiful and cosmopolitan Tanya (Kim So-yeon) as his personal barista. Tanya becomes involved in a dangerous social circle that involves not only the Russian sniper Ilyich (Joo Jin-mo) but also the mysterious socialite known as both Bae Jeong-ja and Sadako (Yoo Sun). With the Russian army hot on their trail, Tanya and her lover Ilyich eventually become ensnared in a plot to assassinate King Gojong that is orchestrated by Sadako, a Korean-Japanese collaborator. Ilyich becomes a spy to protect Tanya, who has begun to fall for Gojong while she makes his coffee every day.

With her intimate connection to the King, making a drink that could easily conceal poison, Tanya must decide if she will become a pawn in the political battlefield of late 19th century Korea.[5][6][7]

Cast

Historical basis

Born into a lowly background, Kim Hong-ryuk rose up in the ranks to be appointed as an interpreter for King Gojong in the latter's dealings with the Russian minister Karl Ivanovich Weber. Eventually his political ambition proved his undoing, and he was executed for allegedly trying to poison Gojong by spiking a cup of coffee with opium.[10][11]

Casting change

Lee Da-hae was originally cast in the lead role of Tanya via verbal agreement,[12] but when she dropped out of the project ten days before filming began, production company Ocean Film sued her for breach of contract. In September 2012, the court ruled in favor of the plaintiff, ordering Lee to pay ₩21 million (US$19,000) in damages, or 40% liability.[13]

Awards
  • 2012 Korean Culture and Entertainment Awards: Excellence Award, Actress in a Film - Kim So-yeon
  • 2014 Golden Cinema Festival: Gold Medal in Cinematography - Oh Hyun-je
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References
  1. Kim, Heidi (24 March 2011). "New historical film Coffee to crank in next week". 10Asia. Retrieved 2012-11-18.
  2. Kwaak, Je-yup (21 February 2012). "Gabi: East-meets-West thriller on Joseon Kingdom's first coffee". The Korea Times. Archived from the original on 2014-03-27. Retrieved 2012-11-18.
  3. Chung, Sung-hee (19 December 2011). "Republic of Coffee". The Dong-a Ilbo. Retrieved 2012-11-18.
  4. Ra, Jegy (16 May 2011). "20 Korean Films to Look Out for Second Half of 2011: Gabi". Korean Cinema Today via Hancinema. Retrieved 2012-11-18.
  5. "Gabi". Korean Cinema Today. 6 March 2012. Retrieved 2014-03-30.
  6. "Gabi (2012)". The Chosun Ilbo. 16 March 2012. Retrieved 2012-11-18.
  7. "2012.3.16 NOW Playing". Korea JoongAng Daily. 16 March 2012. Archived from the original on 26 January 2013. Retrieved 2012-11-18.
  8. Lee, Claire (7 March 2012). "Former teen star returns to big screen". The Korea Herald. Retrieved 2012-11-18.
  9. Kwaak, Je-yup (13 March 2012). "Heartthrob determined to go beyond his image". The Korea Times. Archived from the original on 2013-12-12. Retrieved 2012-11-18.
  10. Djuna. "Gabi". Koreanfilm.org. Retrieved 2012-11-18.
  11. Neff, Robert (9 September 2011). "Did you know that ...(22) The coffee plot". The Korea Times. Archived from the original on 2014-03-30. Retrieved 2012-11-18.
  12. Kim, Heidi (30 December 2010). "Joo Jin-mo and Lee Da-hae cast in new historical film". 10Asia. Retrieved 2012-11-18.
  13. "Lee Da Hae's lawsuit has came to a final decision and she is responsible to pay Ocean Film for their partial loss". Korea Star Daily via Yahoo!. 4 September 2012. Archived from the original on 9 February 2013. Retrieved 2012-11-18.
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