Written and directed by Bong Joon-ho
In Korean with English subtitles
119 mins

After a careless U.S. military personnel commands his reluctant Korean assistant to empty hundreds of bottles of formaldehyde into the sewers near Seoul's Han River, a terrifying mutant is born. The creature abducts Hyun-seo, the daughter of Gang-du, who runs a snack bar near the river with his aging father. Thinking she is dead, the family mourns her loss until they receive a late-night call from her cell phone. Knowing she is alive, they band together to find and rescue her from the mutant before it is too late.

A Q&A with Museum as Hub Fellow Haeyun Park follows the screening focusing on the sociopolitical context of anti-Americanism reflected in the film as well as in the recent South Korean protests against its government’s decision to lift the five-year ban on beef imports from the United States.

This movie was rated R for creature violence and language by the Motion Pictures Association of America. Some content may be inappropriate for children under seventeen.

The screening and discussion is part of the Museum as Hub project “Dongducheon: A Walk to Remember, A Walk to Envision,” organized by Insa Art Space, Seoul, on view in the fifth-floor Museum as Hub space until July 6, 2008.

Banner image:
Ko A-sung in The Host, a Magnolia Pictures release. Photo courtesy of Magnolia Pictures.