

A desperate actor fakes it till he makes it—for love, money, and survival in Korea's underbelly.
Si-bum has a dream of being an actor. One day, he meets a girl Su-kyoung and falls in love with her at first sight. With Si-bum together, Su-kyoung seems to get over her pain and also the uncomfortable relationship with her father. But after a while, she has to confront her mother's death. To escape from the reality, they take a trip to the sea but then Su-kyoung gets severely injured from a car accident. Desperately struggling to save her, Si-bum steals money to pay her hospital and this leads him to work in a bar to serve rich girls. Now Si-bum uses his acting skill to relieve Su-kyoung and pretends he makes a living from acting. But when he is getting popular, he decides to follow his friend Young-ho to Seoul to make more money. One day he comes across one of his old friends and gets involved in a big fight.
Acting
Kim Bum's raw desperation—he's giving everything.
Direction
Park Jeong-Hun's unflinching gaze at poverty's theater.

Director
Park Jeong-Hun
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
The film reflects 2000s Korean 'kkot-baem' culture—pretty boys exploiting wealthy older women in host bars.
Kim Bum shot this during his 'Boys Over Flowers' fame, deliberately choosing grime over glamour.