Two (2) Shin Hae-Sun Movies for Your Watch List

By cmoneyspinner - November 22, 2024

Shin Hae-Sun is definitely on a roll. The most popular Korean drama she starred in was “Mr. Queen” but she has been cast as the lead female character in many more roles. The two movies recommended below were released in 2023 and 2024, respectively. Enjoy!

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(1) Brave Citizen (2023)

GENRE: Action, Comedy, Based on webtoon

(NOTE: If you love it when the bad guys gets his butt kicked, you will love “Brave Citizen”. Having watched “Citizen of a Kind”, a 2024 film that is based on a true story, I was not sure what to expect from another film titled “Brave Citizen”, based on a webcomic. But since it was Shin Hae-Sun playing the role of a strong female lead, it deserved a look-see.)

STORYLINE:

So Shi-Min is a contract teacher. She has 3 months to impress the school hiring officials so they can convert her from a contract to a full-time permanent teaching position. What’s the best way to do that? Simple. If you see injustice or wrongdoing or bullying or … anything that requires you to step up and be a hero … DON’T!! Hold back and don’t be a hero! Look the other way. That’s what the other teacher advised her to do. That’s what all of the school officials do.

So Shi-Min did not always want to be a school teacher. Once upon a time, she was an athlete; a very impressive boxer who competed in the Olympics. What happened to her hopes and dreams? She traded them for another priority; the priority of taking care of her family. Her father needed help. Even though she was no longer participating in matches in the boxing ring, she was still pretty good at the sport. That ability is going to come in handy because … she’s going to have to confront a high school bully, Han Su-Kang. If he’s not The Devil, then for sure he’s a spawn of Satan. He brutalizes and terrorizes other students. Why? Because nobody has ever stopped him and because to use his words … “it’s fun”.

One day, So Shi-Min saw Han Su-Kang bullying a student. Yes. She was told to look the other way. But she just couldn’t! So she intervened. That wasn’t going to be the last time she stepped up. So Shi-Mi found a unique way to confront Han Su-Kang directly and hopefully not lose her job. She gave a new meaning to the phrase “cat lady”.

Main Characters:

So Shi-Min (played by Shin Hae-Sun)
Han Su-Kang (played by Lee Jun-Young)

Where to Watch

Viewership and Rating:

IMDb: 6.5 out of 10 stars
MyDramaList: 8.3 out of 10 stars
Letterboxd: 3.3 out of 5 stars
Viki viewers: 9.6 out of 10 stars

LINKS OF INTEREST:

Film Review: Brave Citizen (2023) | Asian Movie Pulse

Brave Citizen Review: It’s Not Everyone’s Cup of Tea | Geeks

Director Park Jin-pyo’s “Brave Citizen” delivers satisfying vigilante justice in this web comic adaptation. [Fantasia International Film Festival] | Elements of Madness

TRAILERS/TEASERS:

Kdrama Zone. “Brave Citizen (2023) Official Trailer.” YouTube, 13 Sept. 2023, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1LinV73o7WM.

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(2) Following (2024)

GENRE: Mystery, Thriller, Suspense, Social Media Influencer

STORYLINE:

In “Following”, did you know that in South Korea, public opinion is as important as money? Koo Jung-Tae knows. But there’s something weird and strange about this guy. He looks at people or observes them rather. Then he picks someone to observe even more closely. He notices Han So-Ra walking on the streets one day and picks her out of the crowd because he found out that she is a social media influencer. He believed the face she showed to the world was not her real face. Why was that important to him? Dunno! Do know that what he did was creepy. He followed her everywhere and even tried to crack the password so that he could enter her apartment.

Koo Jung-Tae was getting frustrated because he did not know how to gain access to her personal and private living space so that he could find out who the “real Han So-Ra” was. Then one day she walked into his real estate office and asked if he could help her sell the place she was living in and gave him free access to enter her apartment. Unbelievable! How could he be so lucky? It was luck for him. But was it lucky for her? She would soon find out.

Koo Jung-Tae was not your average ordinary guy in real estate who helps people sell their properties. He would go inside a home or apartment wearing latex gloves and unscrew the pipe underneath the bathroom sink. If there was anything lodged in the pipe – like hair or disposable contact lenses – he would put it in a plastic bag and take it back to his place for further examination. Is he creepy? Is the “real Han So-Ra” even creepier? Or is she about to become a victim of … who knows what?

And then there was an unexpected turn of events. Koo Jung-Tae entered her apartment thinking she would not be there and found Han So-Ra’s bloody body lying on her couch. He panicked and ran out. He decided to act like he had not been there and would let people in who wanted to see the place. Why not let them “discover” the dead body? But something even more unexpected happened. When the interested buyers went in, the place was sparkling clean. WHAT??? What’s going on?

Main Characters:

Han So-Ra (played by Shin Hae-Sun)
Koo Jung-Tae (played by Byun Yo-Han, “Black Out”, “Believer 2”, “The Book of Fish”, “Uncle Samsik”, “Mr. Sunshine”)
Detective Oh Young-Joo (played by Lee El, “Battle for Happiness”)