The Promise

Yak Suk a.k.a. A Promise

Runtime : 98 min
Open date in Korea : 14 November 1998
Director : KIM Yoo-jin

Cast
Park Shin Yang as Kong Sang-du
Jeon Do Yeon as Chae Hee-joo
Jung Jun Young as Eom Ki-tak
Cho Sun Mook as Oh Ki-ryang
Seo Hye Rin as Lee Young-hye
Yoo Soon Chul as Chae Pil-soo

Synopsis

The triad leader Kong Sang-du is ambushed by his enemies. He is rushed to the hospital due to serious stab wounds and his face is bandaged because of the bashing by his attacker. His attack results in a stir in the hospital as his subordinates besiege his ward to protect him from possible future assaults.

Chae Hee-joo is the female doctor assigned to Kong Sang-du’s ward. Her strong and undefying attitude in the face of Sang-du’s gangsters attracts Sang-du. And when Sang-du’s bandage is finally removed from, Hee-joo is pleasantly surprised to find a handsome face behind the gangster persona.

The unlikely match takes place and Hee-joo is unexpectedly endangered by Sang-du’s criminal involvement with the underworld. Sang-du tries to protect Hee-joo by breaking up with her. However, the break-up attempt fails and the two get back together. They spend a short time basking in love and promise to stay in love.

Unfortunately their happiness is short-lived when Sang-du's enemies kills one of Sang-du’s key right-hand men in an ambush attack. In his moment of fury, Sang-du single-handedly kills the assailants in a nightclub. His loyal subordinate takes the blame for Sang-du and is charged for murder. However, Sang-du decides to turn himself in to the police to redeem for his sins. And before he goes to the police, he makes one last visit to Hee-joo...

Review

(Dedicated to Faye)

I am on a PSY marathon (after KSW and LBH). This was the only one movie that I had a terrible time trying to get my hands on! I think trying to get any K-movie before 2000 is very difficult. So I was blessed to meet a kind soul, who unselfishly shared her DVD with me. This review would not be possible if not for her, so this is dedicated to kind Faye!

I had told myself not to backtrack too far back into an artist’s works, as you will be disappointed with his or her previous raw performances. But I was not disappointed with PSY’s performance, and he has demonstrated that he has consistently managed to keep and exceed high standards of performance even from “Yak Suk”. You can catch glimpses of his authoritative demeanor that you see so much in “Lovers In Paris” even then! But do not be mistaken; Kong Sang-du is nothing like Han Ki-joo, not even close. The core of Kong Sang-du is a common gangster, a ruthless man who uses his fists to solve problems and spares no thoughts about taking another person’s life when needed. Were it not for the charisma of PSY, it would be difficult to see how JDY falls for a man like that.

The magic of love is difficult to explain, as Chae Hee-joo gives her heart unconditionally and completely to a man that she shouldn’t. No reason, no resolve. Her only request in return for her heart is his heart and nothing else. And that is what sets Chae Hee-joo apart from possibly the other women whom Kong Sang-du has had before. When Sang-du has to give Hee-joo up when he feels that he is endangering her life, PSY displays to perfection the despair of the gangster who has lost his heart to love.

The primitive filming style and the simple dialogue were a stark reminder to me how far Korean movies have come. The movie delivered the relationship of the 2 leads quite plainly and was straightforward in answering most of the audience's questions. There were not many subtle messages or metaphors; there were not many layers to the story or sub-plots; even the use of music in this movie was fairly limited; and there wasn’t even a lot of beautiful cinematography to boast about. I was not particularly impressed with the storyline and the writing, yet the performances from both leads were so strong that when I reached the final church scene, my tears were trickling down uncontrollably and the entire left sleeve of my T-shirt was soaked.

PSY had this spiky crew cut, which reflected his rough background, and a gait that is authoritative, yet with a slouch that differentiates him from a common corporate leader. He had this madness in his eyes, and PSY gave a wild and explosive performance, with a bad boy image appeal that trapped Hee-joo. PSY also managed to display an uncouth side to his character, so that you will never forget his rough background and his crude beginning throughout the movie. In the scene where he shows Hee-joo the difference between how a common gangster and a triad leader would behave to get laid, that was totally awesome acting.

I never found JDY to be pretty or attractive, but she had an alluring appeal in “Yak Suk” that I never seen in her other works. Hee-joo is not afraid to express herself, her emotions and her sexuality. Sang-du’s attraction to Hee-joo is understandable. Although on the surface it did not made a lot of sense how a beautiful doctor like Hee-joo could fall for Sang-du, I felt JDY was fairly successful in delivering the character’s idealistic approach to love and how completely she gives her heart to Sang-du. She never tries to change him, or turn him away from the underworld, rather all she asks for is that he returns of her affection and that he stays close by her side.

Catch this and be impressed by how far the production of Korean movies has come along, and the quality of Korean actors in delivering superb performances to touch the audience, even when faced with poor production conditions.

My favorite scenes
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- Sang-du cracking his head with his team to ask Hee-joo out
- In the car with Hee-joo, telling her the difference how a gangster and a triad leader tries to get laid
- Sang-du getting drunk over his break up with Hee-joo
- Sang-du and Hee-joo poking fun at the lady with the strange way of speaking
- Murder scene
- Church scene

Pleasantly surprised to catch PSY's rear as he receives an injection from JDY!