South Korean Cinema: Io Island
April 16, 2023
South Korean Cinema: An Unconventional Crash Course
Attempting to clear his name of a local man’s murder, a would-be hotel developer from the Korean mainland unwittingly falls prey to the powers of a mysterious island and the women who dominate it.
During a misguided attempt to promote a new hotel named after a mysterious island that locals say only the dead can see, a hotel developer finds himself accused of a local man’s murder. Determined to clear his name, he ventures to the man’s island, a mysterious place populated almost entirely by women. There, he quickly becomes embroiled in a multigenerational tale of sex, death, and supernatural powers. Bizarre, beautiful, sex-crazed, and mystical, Io Island stands out in the career of master filmmaker “Mr. Monster” Kim Ki-young (The Handmaid) for its breathtaking, unspoiled scenery. A sprawling vision of environmentalism, religion, and sexual taboo that has since been uncensored, Io Island is an event that cannot be missed on the big screen! If you’re still not convinced, it’s also one of director Bong Joon-ho’s favorite films of all time.
Content Advisory: Depictions of sexual assault between minors and necrophilia.
- Director: Kim Ki-young
- Principal Cast: Hwa-shi Lee, Jeong-cheol Kim, Yun-seok Choi, Mi-hye Kown, Jeong-ja Park
- Country: South Korea
- Year: 1977
- Running Time: 110 min.
- Producer: Woo-seok Lee
- Screenplay: Yu-sang Ha
- Cinematographers: Il-seong Jeon
- Editors: Dong-Chun Hyeon
- Music: Sang-gi Han
- Language: Korean
- Has Subtitles: Yes