Woo Min-ho's 'Namsan-ui Bujangdeul' Selected as Academy Submission

"Attractive for showing the dark history head-on"
"Lee Byung-hun's acting, well-known in the US, is also outstanding"

Director Woo Min-ho's film The Man Standing Next is competing in the Best International Feature Film category at the 93rd Academy Awards. The Korean Film Council announced on the 21st that after reviewing thirteen shortlisted films, they selected The Man Standing Next as South Korea's official submission. The political noir is based on the October 26 assassination of President Park Chung-hee. It covers the 40 days leading up to the assassination by Kim Gyu-pyeong, the chief of the Korean Central Intelligence Agency. The film focuses on the background that made the incident inevitable, minimizing potential political controversy. Its narrative style resembles the noir films shown by director Jean-Pierre Melville in Le Samoura? (1967) and Le Cercle Rouge (1969). Rather than the incident itself, it meticulously portrays the characters' actions to build tension. Director Woo Min-ho said, "I wanted to convey a cold, lonely, yet melancholic feeling." The cast includes Lee Byung-hun, Lee Sung-min, Kwak Do-won, Lee Hee-joon, and Kim So-jin. The Korean Film Council praised Lee Byung-hun's performance, noting his high recognition in the United States. They added, "It is compelling in that it directly portrays the somewhat dark history of Korea, which achieved remarkable economic development."

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