Haemoo | |
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Promotional poster
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Hangul | 해무 |
Hanja | 海霧 |
Revised Romanization | Haemu |
Directed by | Shim Sung-bo |
Produced by |
Bong Joon-ho Lewis Taewan Kim Jo Neung-yeon |
Written by | Shim Sung-bo Bong Joon-ho |
Based on |
Haemoo by Kim Min-jung |
Starring |
Kim Yoon-seok Park Yoo-chun |
Music by | Jeong Jae-il |
Cinematography | Hong Kyung-pyo |
Edited by |
Kim Sang-bum Kim Jae-bum |
Distributed by | Next Entertainment World |
Release date
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Running time
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110 minutes |
Country | South Korea |
Language | Korean |
Budget | US$10 million |
Box office | US$11,413,416 |
Haemoo (Hangul: 해무; literally "Sea Fog") is a 2014 South Korean film directed by Shim Sung-bo. The film is adapted from the 2007 stage play of the same name, which in turn was based on the true story of 25 Korean-Chinese illegal immigrants who suffocated to death in the storage tank of the fishing vessel Taechangho; their bodies were dumped by the ship's crew into the sea southwest of Yeosu on October 7, 2001. There is likely a connection with the 2006 Scottish film "True North" which has an identical story line.
It was selected as the South Korean entry for the Best Foreign Language Film at the 87th Academy Awards and the 72nd Golden Globe Awards, but was not nominated.
The 69-ton fishing vessel Jeonjinho fails to catch as much fish as its crew had hoped. To make more money, the crew decides to smuggle thirty illegal immigrants into Korea. But things don't go according to plan when the Jeonjinho encounters heavy fog, rain and waves on its return journey, while also being chased by a ship from the South Korean Maritime Police. On orders from the captain, several crew members hide the illegal immigrants inside the fishing tank, where they are in danger of suffocating to death. Amid the chaos, the youngest crew member Dong-sik tries to protect a young female migrant whom he'd fallen in love with.
Haemoo is the first feature film directed by Shim Sung-bo, who co-wrote the screenplay of Memories of Murder with director Bong Joon-ho. Bong is this film's producer.
Kim Yoon-seok was first cast in the role of the ship's captain in June 2013. Song Joong-ki was originally offered to star opposite Kim, but had to turn down the role when he received his enlistment papers for mandatory military service. K-pop singer and actor Park Yoochun was cast instead in August 2013, in his big screen debut. Filming began on October 6, 2013, with locations in Masan, Goyang, Busan and Ulsan, and ended on March 6, 2014.