Jeon Woo-chi: The Taoist Wizard | |
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Hangul | |
Hanja | |
Revised Romanization | Jeonwoochi |
McCune–Reischauer | Chŏnuch‘i |
Directed by | Choi Dong-hoon |
Produced by | Eugene Lee Katherine Kim Lee Tae-hun |
Written by | Choi Dong-hoon |
Starring |
Kang Dong-won Im Soo-jung Kim Yoon-seok |
Music by | Jang Young-gyu |
Cinematography | Choi Young-hwan |
Edited by | Shin Min-kyung |
Distributed by | CJ Entertainment |
Release date
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Running time
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119 minutes |
Country | South Korea |
Language | Korean |
Budget | US$12,000,000 |
Box office | US$38,681,926 |
Jeon Woo-chi (Hangul: 전우치; also known as Woochi, Jeon Woo-chi: The Taoist Wizard or Woochi: The Demon Slayer) is a 2009 South Korean fantasy action film written and directed by Choi Dong-hoon who departs from his popular heist films Tazza: The High Rollers and The Big Swindle for this big-budget, special effects-filled action romp that was equally popular with the Korean audience, earning over six million admissions over the 2009 Christmas period. Based on a Korean folktale, it stars Kang Dong-won in the title role. The film became the 3rd best selling film of 2009 with 6,100,532 tickets sold nationwide.
500 years ago in the Joseon Dynasty. The Flute of the prophecy has fallen into the evil hands of the goblins, propelling the world into a whirlwind of disorder. The ancient Taoist wizards turn to the greatest ascetics of their time, the Master (Baek Yoon-sik) and Hwadam (Kim Yoon-seok) for help in vanquishing the goblins and trust each wizard with one half of the Flute. Meanwhile, the Master’s rascal student Jeon Woochi (Kang Dong-won) tricks the king with the art of transformation and creates a fiasco, which makes the three Taoist wizards and Hwadam visit the Master. But they find the Master murdered and his half of the Flute missing. Woochi is framed for the murder, and as punishment he and his trusty dog Chorangyi (Yoo Hae-jin) are imprisoned inside a scroll by the wizards.
Seoul, 2009. For some strange reason, goblins that had been sealed up in the past begin to appear one by one, wreaking havoc on the city. The three Taoist wizards had been enjoying their years of retirement as a priest, a monk, and a shaman, while Hwadam has long disappeared in order to polish his Taoist art. After much discussion, the three wizards unseal the scroll and call forth Jeon Woochi and Chorangyi. Being offered freedom in return for catching the goblins, Woochi sets out on his task. But what began as a hunt for goblins slowly turns into Woochi's personal sightseeing expedition of the modern-day world. And to top it off, he meets a woman with the same face as the one that had captivated him so many centuries ago (Im Soo-jung). Together with Seo In-kyung (his new, yet old love), Woochi begins his adventure.