The Host ~ An Award-Winning 2006 Korean Sci-Fi Movie

“The Host” is a 2006 Korean Sci-Fi movie streaming on Hulu. It is categorized as both science fiction and horror. since the movie was released almost 20 years ago, it can be considered a classic. This is an award-winning film; awards include Best Film at the Asian Film Awards and the Blue Dragon Film Awards.

♦ It’s Just a River. Why Should Anybody Care?

In the opening scene of “The Host”, an American military pathologist (a “jerk”) orders his Korean assistant to dispose of toxic formaldehyde by simply pouring it down the drain. The assistant says “There are rules for disposing of toxic waste. Pouring toxic chemicals down the drain is against the rules. Also .. it will flow into the Han River.” The American tells his assistant: “Just do what I said!”

(NOTE: At this point, less than 15 minutes into the film, the angry viewer of this Kdrama (that would be me) is seriously wondering why the assistant didn’t pour a bottle of that formaldehyde down the guy’s throat!! Or at least, walk of the job! But hey! It’s a movie.)

Just to provide some context and understand the unreasonableness of the American’s order: The Han River has played a significant part in the history of Korea; and continues to have a major role in South Korea. During ancient times, this river was a key connection between Korea and China, even during the Goguryeo, Baekje, and Silla Dynasty eras. It impacts the economy, For example, many Kdramas are filmed at this location and it is a top tourist attraction. Most importantly, the Han river is the main freshwater source for both humans and wild life. In other words, people should not mess up this river!

After the toxic formaldehyde is dumped into the Han River, a creature emerges and does what monsters do … starts killing people! Park Gang-du runs a small snack bar near the river with his father, Hee-bong. Other members of the Park family include his sister Nam-joo, his brother, Nam-il, and his daughter, Hyun-seo. When the huge creature comes out of the water, panic ensues and everybody starts running for their lives. In the midst of the chaos, Park Gang-du mistakenly grabs the hand of a young girl, thinking she is his daughter, and starts running. When he realizes he made a mistake, it’s too late. He sees the creature snatch Hyun-seo and dive back into the river.

The American military lies and says the creature is “The Host” of a deadly, unknown virus. Yeah right. Then they quarantine whoever has had contact with the creature. So the Park Family end up basically imprisoned in a hospital. That’s the bad news. The good news is that the daughter, managed to escape from the creature and is hiding in the sewer pipes. She had a cell phone and called her dad. But the phone battery died. Now that Gang-du knows Hyun-seo is alive, there is no way he and his family are going to stay trapped in that hospital.

The Park family escape from the hospital and from that point forward they are willing to do whatever it takes to save Hyun-seo and the little girl is doing whatever it takes to survive. Meanwhile, as if it wasn’t bad enough that the government LIED about the deadly virus, they decide to make matters even worse! They’re going to release another toxic chemical called Agent Yellow hoping it will kill the creature. Yeah. Uh huh. Typical.

The government has completely closed off the banks of the Han River and marked it as a danger zone. But that doesn’t stop Gang-du and the rest if his family from goin’ in. The monster has his daughter and the family is willing to risk everything to save her. That means they will DEFY THE GOVERNMENT!

If only the Korean assistant in the lab had defied his superior’s instruction, in the first place.

Main Characters:

• Park Kang-Doo (played by Song Kang-Ho, “Broker”)
• Park Hee-Bong (played by Byun Hee-Bong, “Pinocchio”)
• Park Nam-Il (played by Park Hae-Il, “High Society”)
• Park Nam-Joo (played by Bae Doo-Na, “The Silent Sea”, “Stranger 1 and 2”, “Kingdom 1 and 2”)
• Park Hyun-Seo (played by Ko Ah-Sung, “Doona”)

Where to Watch

Viewership and Rating:

• IMDb: 7.1 out of 10 stars
• My Drama List: 7.6 out of 10 stars
• Plex TV: 9.3 out of 10 stars

My personal rating is 9.9 out of 10 stars.

My personal rating is high because it measures how hot my anger was. There is no way anyone can watch the opening scene and not get angry. Your brain starts screaming: THIS IS AN OUTRAGE!!! It’s even more outrageous because it has happened and will likely continue to happen IN REAL LIFE.

DID YOU KNOW?

Rivers provide a lot of benefits for humankind. But the most important benefit if DRINKING WATER!! “Rivers are the arteries of Earth’s continents …” Borrowed this quote from a Stanford University academic paper.  And yet …

• The Ganges River in India is one of the world’s most polluted rivers. “One of”. That means there’s more!
• The Sarno River in Europe is one of the world’s ten most polluted rivers.
• The Mississippi River is the most polluted water source in the USA.

How and why did they become polluted? You don’t need to be an environmentalist to know how it happened. We can all make an educated guess and say: chemical wastes, pesticides, oil spills, etc. Certain people who worked at certain companies or government organizations in certain positions, who knew … and didn’t do anything to stop it!!

Some reviewers described the film as “funny”. But I couldn’t laugh. We have not been attacked by monstrous creatures formed because of toxic wastes. But many of us suffer from cancer, deformities, etc. These illnesses are a lot scarier than fictitious creatures.

LINKS OF INTEREST:

Han River (Hangang) – What To Know BEFORE You Go | Viator

Best Korean Dramas and Movies on Hulu to Watch Right Now | Movie Web

26 Korean Horror Movies To Give You Nightmares For Days | BuzzFeed

Korean Creature Features | wine and a kdrama

The Host: Bong Joon-Ho’s breakout monster movie is eerily prescient, not-quite-escapist fare | TV streaming | The Guardian

Film Review: The Host (2006) … “the film delivers on three fronts: intellectually, generically, and emotionally.” | Mean State

Movie Review – Host, The (2006) ~ “An endearing, loopy, bizarre creature-feature …” |Fernby Films

TRAILERS/TEASERS:

Rotten Tomatoes Classic Trailers. “The Host (2006) Trailer #1 | Movieclips Classic Trailers.” YouTube Video. YouTube, November 2, 2019. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i6b42ZMkUcQ.‌

♦♦ MISS-K-DRAMA. “6 Mind-Blowing Korean Movies That You Need to Watch in 2024.” YouTube Video. YouTube, June 21, 2024. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B-t6xTTg_lA.‌