HomeActor/ActressKim Min-sun
Kim Min-sun
김민선
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Portrait of a Beauty The movie is based on interesting hypothetical assumptions of the story of Shin Yun-bok (one of the three famous painters from the Joseon Kingdom alongside Kim Hong-do and Jang Seung-eop). Shin decides to dress in male attire, after her brother's suicide. While she raises issues about forbidden sexual affairs through her paintings, her master Kim Hong-do falls for her, making gisaeng (Korean geisha) Seol-hwa jealous. 18 and over. 108 minutes. Antique Jin-hyeok, a millionaire's son, opens a cake shop named ``Antique,'' to meet as many women as he can. He hires three other men, including a genius patissier Seon-wu, cake-lover Gi-beom, and his former bodyguard Su-yeong. However, there is never a peaceful moment as Jin-hyeok remembers Seon-wu once confessed his love for him at high school, and Seon-wu's boyfriend is coming to Korea from France to hire him as a patissier for a top hotel in Paris. Directed by Min Kyu-dong. 15 and over. 109 minutes. Iri Thirty years ago, a train loaded with 40 tons of dynamite explodes in Iri, a small southern city in Korea. After the accident, its name was changed to Iksan, and people slowly began to get on with their lives. However, born on the train at that time, Jin-seo (Yoon Jin-seo) cannot do so as she has a mental condition as a result of the accident. Her only brother Tae-woong (Uhm Tae-woong) becomes tired of taking care of her. By following the two, the movie slowly reveals a painful memory of Korea forgotten for 30 years. Directed by Zhang Lu. 18 and over. 108 minutes.
[MOVIE REVIEW] Shin Yun-bok painted with a lewd brush
![[MOVIE REVIEW] Shin Yun-bok painted with a lewd brush](/kmovie_news/thumbnail/200811070008_thumb.jpg)
"The Portrait of a Beauty (Miindo)," directed by Jeon Yun-su, starts off with a tricky warning: "Some of details in the movie are not based on historical facts." This is misleading. The film's core assumption - that a famous Joseon painter was in fact a woman disguised as a man - is utterly, if not outrageously, fictional. Shin Yun-bok, better known by his pen name Hyewon, is a real figure who produced a host of thematically provocative and artistically excellent paintings in the 18th century. The possibility that he might have been a woman, according to existing historical documents, is not almost zero but absolutely zero. But viewers should be aware of the second trick hidden up Jeon's sleeve: explicit sexuality, sleekly packaged as a statement on the nature of art. In one crucial scene, main characters debate the boundary between art and vulgarity. The conclusion foisted upon us by the director, who solidified his filmmaking career with "Le Grand Chef" last year, is that if you see obscenity in a picture where sexual innuendo abounds, it's because your mind is muddled with dark, sinful thoughts. Such simplistic justification is, after all, inevitable in a film that gratuitously indulges in nudity, trans-sexuality, homosexuality, and China's version of the Kama Sutra. Add to the already complicated mix the sexual tension between a teacher and his beautiful student, and the impact is disturbingly powerful. Of course, the movie is not entirely about sex. Universal human emotions, notably obsessive jealousy, are juxtaposed along with Hyewon's gracefully satirical paintings, many of which poke fun at adulterous and sexually charged situations involving the pretentious upper class of the Joseon period. The initial trigger comes from retired court painter Shin Han-pyong's desire to settle an old score with the then top-rated painter Kim Hong-do (played by Kim Young-ho). Shin expects his son Yun-bok to emerge as a new star painter and then confront Kim, but the plan skids to a halt when Yun-bok commits suicide over his lack of talent. Shin's twisted passion, however, does not end. He pushes his daughter Yun-jeong to disguise herself as her brother and enter the turbulent world of court painters. The grown-up Yun-jeong (played by Kim Min-sun), who is now known as Hyewon Shin Yun-bok, finally makes it to the court and learns to paint under the guidance of Kim Hong-do, a prominent painter who has the trust of King Jung-jo. Kim Hong-do quickly notices Yun-bok's huge potential as well as his girlish features. Things remain normal until Yun-bok goes out and comes across a playful seller of mirrors, Gang-mu (Kim Nam-gil). When their romantic adventure takes off, it is Kim Hong-do who ends up heartbroken. Kim's jealousy, and his desire to own Yun-bok physically and emotionally, soars to a perilous level. A love triangle is by no means a creative novelty. What's new is the boldness of the underlying attraction that bolsters the treacherous relationship: Yun-bok's trans-sexual appeal. Even in a man's clothes, she's beautiful thanks to her radiant boyish charms. Gang-mu seems to be struck chiefly by Yun-bok's feminine beauty but Kim's obsession about her is much more complex, because he lives in the same quarters of the court where Yun-bok pretends to be a man. The movie throws in other explicit scenes, one of which is a closed-door demonstration of Chinese sex positions by two scantily clad female entertainers. Actress Kim Min-sun has certainly created a new silver-screen image by taking a role that involves plenty of nudity. The film, to be released on Nov. 13, is expected to post better box-office numbers than other historical pieces, not least because of the huge publicity about explicit sex scenes. But a relentless mixture of sex and art does not necessarily make it appealing - or even all that inspiring - however creative director Jeon's interpretation about Hyewon's life may be.
Legendary painter Hyewon hits silver screen
Shin Yun-bok, better known as Hyewon, is hitting the silver screen next month, adding to the trend of rediscovering the legendary painter from the Joseon period. "The Portrait of a Beauty (Miindo)," directed by Jeon Yun-su, is the first big-screen movie devoted to the hidden life of the 18th century artist. Last year, a novel titled "The Painter of Wind" touched off a Hyewon boom in the country's culture scene. A major television network recently followed by launching a drama series of the same title based on the novel. Both the novel and the drama are based on a wild supposition that Hyewon was a woman disguised as a man. "The Portrait of a Beauty" seems to be a latecomer in the Hyewon frenzy, but Jeon set about the project several months earlier than the television adaptation. One disadvantage for the film is that Moon Geun-young, a top-rated actress, plays Hyewon for the television drama series, a development that seems to put pressure on Jeon and other cast members. "I am watching every episode of 'The Painter of Wind' on television and its unexpectedly detailed portrayals surprised me," Jeon said at a news conference held in Seoul yesterday. "But the movie version will have a very different impact on the audience because it depicts the dramatic life of Hyewon and human desire in a very colorful and dramatic fashion that will certainly overwhelm audiences." Jeon made his debut with "Besa Me Mucho" in 2001, and solidified his career with "My Girl and I" (2005) before revealing his box-office potential with "Le Grand Chef" (2006), which sold about 3 million tickets. As with the novel and the drama, the movie pins the key plot on the imaginative setting in which Hyewon hides her true identity while she works as a court painter known for his enviable talent in painting. Kim Min-sun plays Yun-jeong, the younger sister who is later forced to carry on the life of Hyewon after he dies. "There was a hunger for getting a title role in a movie that I really wanted to join, and I think I have waited for about 10 years," Kim said. "I instantly knew that this film is the very one that I was waiting for, and I made every effort to get a role, even going to the national museum to take a look at Shin Yun-bok's original paintings." Even before the press conference yesterday, the film's marketers released materials highlighting what they call "sensational nudity" involving Kim Min-sun's role, which is a primary difference with the television series. Kim said there was a moment of hesitation about the provocative scene, but the necessity of the footage for depicting Hyewon's life helped her make the decision. In the film, Hyewon falls in love with Gang-mu (Kim Nam-gil), but their love affair runs into problems as Hyewon's teacher, Kim Hong-do (Kim Young-ho), is strangely drawn to the charm of his talented male student, and a female entertainer named Seol-hwa (Chu Ja-hyun), pulls some wicked strings in an effort to destroy Hyewon. The movie, to be released on Nov. 13, will also feature some Joseon-period erotic paintings in connection with Hyewon's free-spirited style. Hyewon, born in 1758, built up his fame as a master of realism and satire, often inserting bold sexual symbols into his paintings with a touch of playfulness that was rare in the Joseon era.
“Portrait of a Beauty” Most Anticipated Film in Fall
“Portrait of a Beauty,” a film about painter Shin Yun-bok of the Joseon era, was cited the most anticipated Korean movie this fall in a survey conducted by the film site Movist (www.movist.com). In the survey 994 out of 5485 respondents (18%) replied that this faction film was their number one choice for the fall movie. Starring Kim Min-seon and Chu Ja-hyun, “Portrait of a Beauty” is about a genius female painter, who had to disguise herself as a man to survive in the Confucian era, and the relationship she has with Kim Hong-do, another illustrious painter of the time and her mentor. The release date has not been determined yet, but it’s certain to stir up huge interest in Korean painting, not to mention renewed enthusiasm for the long-struggling Korean film industry. Following the “Portrait of a Beauty” in the survey were “One Fine Day,” starring award-winning Jeon Do-yeon and Ha Jeong-woo, “Go Go 70” with Shin Min-ah and Jo Seung-woo, “Truck” with Yu Hae-jin, and “Modern Boy” with glamorous Kim Hye-soo and dandy Park Hae-il.
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