King and the Clown | |
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Promotion poster for King and the Clown
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Hangul | |
Hanja | 의 |
Revised Romanization | Wang-ui Namja |
McCune–Reischauer | Wang'ŭi Namja |
Directed by | Lee Joon-ik |
Produced by | Jeong Jin-wan Lee Joon-ik |
Written by | Choi Seok-hwan |
Based on |
Yi by Kim Tae-woong |
Starring |
Kam Woo-sung Jung Jin-young Lee Joon-gi Sam Watts |
Music by | Lee Byung-woo |
Cinematography | Ji Kil-woong |
Edited by |
Kim Sang-bum Kim Jae-bum |
Production
company |
Cineworld
Eagle Pictures |
Distributed by |
Cinema Service CJ Entertainment (international) |
Release date
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Running time
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119 minutes |
Country | South Korea |
Language | Korean |
Budget | ₩4 billion |
Box office | US$74,466,867 |
King and the Clown (Hangul: 왕의 남자; Hanja: 王의 男子; RR: Wang-ui Namja, lit. The King's Man) is a 2005 South Korean historical drama film, starring Kam Woo-sung, Jung Jin-young and Lee Joon-gi. It was adapted from the 2000 stage play, Yi ("You") about Yeonsangun of Joseon, a Joseon dynasty king and a court clown who mocks him. It was released on 29 December 2005, runs for 119 minutes; and distributed domestically by Cinema Service and internationally by CJ Entertainment.
The movie is referred to by various titles. It is sometimes known as The King's Man (the literal English translation of the Korean title). In Chinese, the title is "王的男人" or "王和小丑", and in Japanese, it is known as "王の男". It is also known as The Royal Jester in English, as the movie's English translator found it more fitting than the original title.
The film was chosen as South Korea's official submission for the 2006 Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film. With over 12.3 million tickets sold, it is the ninth highest grossing film in South Korea.
Set in the late 15th century during the reign of King Yeonsan, two male street clowns and tightrope walkers, Jangsaeng (Kam Woo-sung) and Gong-gil (Lee Joon-gi), are part of an entertainer troupe. Their manager prostitutes the beautiful Gong-gil to rich customers, and Jangsaeng is sickened by this practice. After Gong-gil kills the manager in defense of Jangsaeng, the pair flee to Seoul, where they form a new group with three other street performers.