Korean Star Set To Attend Festival

by Charles Nguyen, SDAFF writer

Choi Min-sik plays a former boxing champion fallen on hard times in CRYING FIST.

Korean film fans can rejoice with the San Diego Asian Film Foundation’s announcement that Korean megastar Choi Min-sik has confirmed his attendance at the 6th Annual San Diego Asian Film Festival, to promote the opening night film CRYING FIST.

Choi has worn many faces for the silver screen, but none more riveting than his portrayal of the vengeful and violent Oh Dae-su in OLDBOY. The film garnered plenty of critical acclaim and made a splash in the American independent film circuit.

“The acting by Choi Min-sik…strikes a genuinely tragic note amid the mayhem,” wrote Walter Addiego of the San Francisco Chronicle in a review of the film.

Choi Min-sik as the vengeful Oh Dae-su in OLDBOY

Although OLDBOY was America’s first exposure to Choi, the actor has long been a household name in Korean cinema. Choi began his film acting career in Park Chong-won’s OUR TWISTED HERO, a social and political commentary set in a Korean classroom. In 1999, Choi struck gold with a lead role in one of Korea’s most successful films, SHIRI. The action packed thriller, in which he plays a North Korean agent who hijacks a load of explosives, launched the actor into super stardom status throughout the country. Choi also has a major role in the war epic TAEGUKI, which is available on DVD in the U.S.

But even beyond gunfights, Choi’s acting prowess knows no bounds. In a magnetizing performance, he portrays a music teacher who inspires his class in SPRINGTIME. Now, Choi arrives at SDAFF with his latest hit and one of his most moving roles yet, in CRYING FIST. The film by ARAHAN director Ryu Seung-wan, casts Choi as a tragic over-the-hill boxer fighting for his space in the spotlight once again.

The talented and venerated actor can also be seen in SDAFF’s encore screenings of OLDBOY and SPRINGTIME.