Once Upon a Time in High School

Once Upon a Time in High School: The Spirit of Jeet Kune Do (Korean: 말죽거리 잔혹사) is a 2004 South Korean drama film. The background of the film is set in a high school in South Korea, 1978. The original Korean title literally means "cruel history of Maljuk street" and one of the filming locations was the present neighborhood of Yangjae-dong, Seocho District in Seoul.[1][2]

Once Upon a Time in High School
Theatrical poster
Hangul말죽거리 잔혹사
Revised RomanizationMaljukgeori janhoksa
McCune–ReischauerMaljukgŏri chanhoksa
Directed byYoo Ha
Produced byCha Seung-jae
No Jong-yoon
Written byYoo Ha
StarringKwon Sang-woo
Han Ga-in
Lee Jung-jin
Music byKim Joon-seok
CinematographyChoi Hyeon-gi
Edited byPark Gok-ji
Production
company
Distributed byCJ Entertainment
Release date
  • January 16, 2004 (2004-01-16)
Running time
116 minutes
CountrySouth Korea
LanguageKorean

Synopsis

Hyun-soo (Kwon Sang-woo), transfers to a school that is notorious for its poor outcomes and brutality. He joins a bottom-rank class and experiences violence by delinquents led by Jong-hoon (Lee Jong-hyuk), a stereotypical Korean bully. The teachers are depicted as authoritarian and brutal (as was common up into the 1970s). On the bus, Hyun-soo sees and falls in love with Eun-joo (Han Ga-in). When schoolboys start teasing her, Hyun-soo takes the opportunity to gain her respect, even though it starts a riot. After the two are chased and caught in their hiding place, one of Hyun-soo's friends Kim Woo-sik (Lee Jung-jin), steps in and knocks out the attackers.

A love triangle is formed between Hyun-soo, Woo-sik, and Eun-joo. One day, Hyun-soo notices Woo-sik and Eun-joo arguing. Despite his only achievement being sharing an umbrella with her, he meets her on a rooftop that night and they bond with each other while Woo-sik jealously observes them in secret. One day Hyun-soo and Woo-sik get in a fight over Eun-joo and their friendship ends. Woo-sik then humiliates and beats up Ham Jye-bok or "Hamburger" (Park Hyo-jun) who sells pornography to other students. Woo-sik then loses an intense fight with Jong-hoon on the rooftop and leaves the school, presumably having dropped out.

Hyun-soo concludes that Eun-joo has left him for Woo-sik. Hyun-soo's father is a black belt in Tae Kwon Do and an owner of a Tae Kwon Do gym; he treats his students kindly while treats his son poorly. When he discovers that Hyun-soo has been receiving poor grades, he beats him, refers to him as "surplus man" (a derogatory term for a person without a future), and kicks him out of his house permanently.

No longer able to put up with the conduct of Jong-hoon, his gang, nor the brutality and violence of teachers, Hyun-soo trains himself in Jeet Kune Do, inspired by his childhood hero Bruce Lee. One day, on the same rooftop where Woo-sik lost a fight his fight with Jong-hoon, Hyun-soo uses nunchaku and his new-found expertise in Jeet Kune Do to grievously injure Jong-hoon and his gang mates. When authorities blame Hyun-soo, he lashes out. Smashing windows and throwing his nunchucks, he curses Korea's entire education system for being so corrupt and encouraging brutality.

Hyun-soo is expelled and sent to a public school. Jong-hoon's mother blames him for beating her son, forcing his father to apologize to her for his son's actions. Hyun-soo apologizes to his father about the incident and they eventually reconcile. His father tells him that he can always get a GED and asks if Bruce Lee went to college, knowing full well that he didn't and realizing that a good man isn't defined by a college education. By chance, he runs into Eun-joo. Hyun-soo later attends a movie with Ham Jye-bok and both goof off with mock martial arts over Bruce Lee vs Jackie Chan.

Cast

Awards and nominations

2004 Baeksang Arts Awards

2004 Grand Bell Awards

2004 Blue Dragon Film Awards[3]

  • Best Art Direction - Kim Gi-cheol, Kim Hyo-jeong
  • Popular Star Award - Kwon Sang-woo
  • Nomination - Best Film
  • Nomination - Best Director - Yoo Ha
  • Nomination - Best Screenplay - Yoo Ha
  • Nomination - Best Cinematography - Choi Hyeon-gi
  • Nomination - Best New Actress - Han Ga-in

2004 Korean Film Awards

  • Nomination - Best Film
  • Nomination - Best Director - Yoo Ha
  • Nomination - Best Screenplay - Yoo Ha
  • Nomination - Best New Actress - Han Ga-in
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References
  1. Jo Seong-jin (2006-03-20). 서울, 아는 만큼 즐긴다!: 말죽거리를 아시나요?. Seoul City Hall (in Korean).
  2. Jang Gang-myeong (2005-03-18). (영화 속의 서울) 영화 ‘말죽거리 잔혹사’와 암사동 점마을. The Dong-a Ilbo (in Korean).
  3. "Once Upon a Time in High School". Cinemasie. Retrieved 2014-07-31.
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