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Spoiler Alert: All You Need to Know About Park Jin-young’s Upcoming Movie ‘Christmas Carol’

The idol actor will play a monster created by violence, ready for a brutal fight to avenge the death of his twin brother

Dec 05, 2022

Photo: Courtesy of HanCinema

Park Jin-young, or Jin-young from GOT7, will star in the upcoming Korean film Christmas Carol following his outstanding performance as Yoo Ba-bi in the sequel to the wildly successful romantic comedy Yumi’s Cells. Jin-young, as Yoo, is a gentle and kind man whose arms provide Yu-mi (Kim Go-eun) comfort and the courage to take on new challenges and rediscover love, thus inspiring her. In Christmas Carol, though, Jin-young’s roles are a far cry from Yoo’s. We’ll see him play the twin brothers Joo Wol-woo and Joo Il-woo. While Wol-woo is frail, Il-woo is strong and lands up becoming a rebel with a cause – a monster created by violence – ready for a brutal fight to exact revenge.

Official Poster of Christmas Carol featuring Jinyoung. Photo courtesy of HanCinema

Let’s dig a little deeper into Christmas Carol.

Plot Synopsis

An 18-year-old teenager with mental issues named Joo Wol-woo is found dead in a water tank on Christmas Eve. The boy’s dementia-afflicted grandmother is asked to sign the death certificate, which lists accidental drowning as the cause of death despite apparent signs of horrifying brutality. Soon, the stunned lady passes away as well. Flustered and frustrated, the victim’s twin brother, Joo Il-woo, seeks retribution. Sadly, the world ignores his plight, leaving him utterly alone and without resources in his mission to avenge Wol-woo’s death. As a result, he chooses to take justice into his own hands.

Other Important Characters

Jo Soon-woo (Kim Young-min) – Soon-woo is one of the juvenile facility teachers who met Wol-woo through volunteer work. When he encounters Il-woo at the juvenile detention center, he is aware of his intentions and tries to appease him at first, but ultimately assists Il-woo in his mission.

Moon Ja-hoon (Song Geon-hee) – He is the antagonist who rammed and assaulted Wol-woo wantonly on Christmas Eve at the convenience store where he worked. We’ll see him attempting to get rid of Il-woo, who confronts him and declares that he will still avenge Wol-woo.

Son Hwan (Kim Dong-hwi) – Hwan is a close friend of Wol-woo’s who is coerced into joining Moon’s gang by bullies. Moon hires a criminal who served in a demolition party to evict residents of a redevelopment area to kill Il-woo because he feels threatened by him.

Han Hee-sang (Heo Dong-won) – A very efficient teacher in the correctional system.

Official Poster of Christmas Carol featuring the main characters. Photo courtesy of HanCinema

Christmas Carol is a film adaptation of Joo Won-kyu’s best-selling novel of the same name, directed by Kim Sung-soo. Kim allegedly attempted to depict how the powerful brutalize the weak. There are also scenes of sexual violence in the film. According to a K ODYSSEY article, Kim addressed how “nowadays movies dealing with the idea of revenge exclude the victims” in a press conference held on November 29th, adding, “The unfortunate truth is that since Il-woo has the power to beat up the bad guys, he thus seeks revenge; however, weak protagonists such as Son Hwan or Wol-woo have no power to even go against bullies.”  

Jin-young noted that his characters, Wol-woo and Il-woo, are noteworthy in the film. I’m quite certain they are, and I absolutely cannot wait to see Christmas Carol, especially Jin-young in his new form. Even though the narrative is gory, intense, and dark, it is unquestionably a must-see for Korean movie buffs, particularly those who love Jin-young.

Jinyoung as Wol-woo. Photo courtesy of HanCinema
Jinyoung as Il-woo. Photo courtesy of HanCinema

Christmas Carol releases on December 7th, 2022.

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