Friend 2, Director Kwak Kyung-taek’s much-anticipated sequel to the highest-grossing South Korean film of all time Friend was released in South Korea on Nov 14.
It stars Yu Oh-seong, reprising his role as Joon-seok, Kim Woo-bin as Sung-hoon and Joo Jin-mo as Joon-seok’s father, Cheol-ju.
Joon-seok is released after serving 17 years in prison for ordering the death of his childhood friend, Dong-su (played by Jang Dong-gun in the original film). He reclaims his position in the Busan-based crime syndicate and aligns himself with Sung-hoon, the grown-up son of Dong-su. Interspersed are scenes of Joon-seock’s father, Cheol-ju’s gangster past in Busan in 1963.
Friend 2 has gotten off to a rip-roaring start as it drew over 300,000 admissions on its opening day. Reportedly, distributor Lotte Entertainment announced sales to the US (Dreamwest), Japan (Nikkatsu) and Taiwan (AV-Jet).
“The delicate direction of Kwak stands out in the film with much color of authentic gangster film. It is a rare masterpiece out of Korean films.” Japan distributor Nikkatsu said.
It was screened at AFM (American Film Market) and US distributor Dreamwest is set to open the film on 20 North American screens in December.
Source: KOBIZ