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Brave Citizen

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Brave Citizen
Theatrical release poster
Hangul
용감한 시민
RRYonggamhan simin
MRYonggamhan simin
Directed byPark Jin-pyo
Screenplay by
  • Yeo Ji-Na
  • Hyeon Chung-Yeol
Based onBrave Citizen (webtoon) by Kim Jung-Hyun
Starring
CinematographyKim Yongseong
Edited by
  • Kim Woo-hyun
  • Kim Hyun-seo
Production
companies
Finecut
Studio N
Content Wavve
VOL Media (co-production)
Oscar10studio (co-production)
Distributed byMindmark (Korea)
Kadokawa Plus (Japan)
Moviecloud (Taiwan)
Lumix Medi (Vietnam)
Kairos Distribution (Inflight Rights)
Release date
  • October 25, 2023 (2023-10-25)
Running time
112 minutes[1]
CountrySouth Korea
LanguageKorean
Box office₩2,445,021,472 [2]

Brave Citizen (Korean: 용감한 시민) is a 2023 South Korean vigilante action comedy film directed by Park Jin-pyo, starring Shin Hye-sun and Lee Jun-young.[3][4][5] It is an adaptation of the webtoon of the same name.[6]

The film follows an aspiring boxer and substitute teacher, Si-min (Shin Hye-sun), who covertly fights against a school bully, Soo-kang (Lee Jun-young), by using a mask to conceal her identity.

Cast

[edit]
  • Shin Hye-sun as So Si-min, a substitute teacher at Mooyoung High and former boxing prodigy.[7][8] "So Si-min" is a literal translation of "ordinary middle-class citizen" in Korean.[9]
  • Lee Jun-young as Han Soo-kang, a "ruthless"[9][10][11] bully and student, who terrorizes students and faculty at Mooyoung High.[12][13]
  • Park Jung-woo as Go Jin-hyeong, a classmate of Soo-kang's and his main victim.[12][14]
  • Park Hyuk-kwon as So Yeong-taek, Si-min's father.
  • Cha Chung-hwa as Lee Jae-kyeong, a teacher at Mooyoung High.
  • Lee Chan-Hyeong as Lee Kwon-joong
  • Bae Hyeon-Jun as Lee Byeong-jin
  • Cha Woo-min as Lee Moon-ki[15]
  • Lee Joong-ok as Seo Sang-woo[16]
  • Son Sook as Go Jin-hyung's grandmother
  • Kang Anna as Song Eun-gyo
  • Lee Gyu-hoe as vice principal

Production

[edit]

Background

[edit]

In April 2019, Studio N (the production company subsidary of Naver Webtoon)[17], confirmed that a film adaptation of the Brave Citizen webtoon was going to be made.[18]

The webtoon's creator, Kim Jung-Hyun, was inspired to create the concept for the story from an article he read about a teacher who ignored school violence. The article prompted him to think about how a teacher in that situation would react if they themselves became the victim of bullying.[19]

The film's director, Park Jin-pyo, stated that he worked on developing the theme of school violence from the webtoon into the film two and a half years prior to the phenomenon's renewed attention in South Korea,[20] which occurred prior to the film's release in 2023.[21][22][23]

Casting

[edit]

On October 9, 2021, Shin Hye-sun was reported to be positively responding to the script after having been offered a role in the film.[24] On November 12, 2021, Studio N announced that Shin and Lee Jun-young had been cast in the leading roles.[25][26][27][28]

Shin trained for 6 months[29] with a martial arts instructor for her character, and confirmed she performed all the action scenes in the film herself.[30] The film is Shin's first action film.[20][31]

Filming

[edit]

In August 2021, it was reported that filming would begin in November of that year.[32][33] However, later reports in November 2021 indicated that filming would begin in December 2021.[26][27] Principal photography officially began on December 30, 2021 and concluded on April 5, 2022.[34]

Heo Myeong-haeng, known for being an action direction master[35][36] choreographed the action sequences for the film.[20][37]

Post-production

[edit]

Deadline reported that South Korean sales company Finecut had acquired the international rights to the adaptation at Busan International Film Festival's Asian Film & Contents Market that took place in October 2022.[37]

Release

[edit]

Brave Citizen premiered on October 25, 2023 in South Korea.[38] Its North American debut took place at the Fantasia International Film Festival on July 20, 2024.[8] The film was later featured at the 12th Korean Film Festival in Belgium on October 2, 2024.[39]

Its release marked Cha Woo-min's film debut.[40]

Reception

[edit]

Box office

[edit]

The film opened at number two at the local box office, as it sold over 36,000 tickets and grossed approximately 281.8 million ₩ (around US$206,978).[34]

Critical response

[edit]

Brave Citizen holds an audience rating of 6.87 on the Korean review aggregator Naver Movie Database,[41] and has a Letterboxd rating of 3.3/5.[42] Expert critics at Cine21 gave it 5 out of 10 stars, while audiences rated it 8/10.[43]

Audiences and critics alike praised Lee Jun-young's villainous portrayal of Han Soo-kang.[12][44][45][38][46][47]

Critics applauded the film's exploration of school violence.[14][48][12][38][49] Yoo Seon-ah from Cine21 added that the school violence theme combined with the masked vigilante narrative offers viewers an emotional satisfaction.[48] Cho Kyung-Geon, a journalist from Busan Ilbo, similarly complimented the well-timed theme of school violence, although he noted that the film felt "predictable" at times.[12] Fantasia International Film Festival's Steven Lee remarked that the theme was "explored in a very interesting way."[8]

Scott Phillips from Forbes called Brave Citizen an "action gem" and his favorite film from the Fantasia International Film Festival 2024's first week.[13] David Chew and Golden Lee highlighted the "well choreographed"[14] action scenes as what made viewing Brave Citizen enjoyable.[50] On the other hand, Yoo Seon-ah critizised the multi-angled action sequences, and questioned whether their inclusion fully capitalizes on the strengths of the action genre.[48] Film critic Maxance Vincent expressed a similar attitude to Yoo, stating that while there were a few great action fight moves present, a majority of the action photography looked "more janky than sweeping," and noted that he was unimpressed by the lack of "visual flourish" in the film's final boxing match.[51]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ Oh, Boram (October 19, 2023). "A long wait for a refreshing hit… the movie 'Brave Citizen'". Yonap News. Retrieved July 15, 2025.
  2. ^ "KOFIC, KOBIS (Korean Box Office Information System) The Box office: Brave Citizen (2022)". KOFIC. Retrieved July 15, 2025.
  3. ^ Shackleton, Liz (October 7, 2023). "Korea's Finecut Sells 'Brave Citizen' To Japan; Signs Up For 'Victory' – Busan". Deadline. Retrieved July 15, 2025.
  4. ^ Frater, Patrick (October 6, 2023). "Korean Vigilante Action Film, 'Brave Citizen' Secures Asian Sales Deals". Variety. Retrieved July 15, 2025.
  5. ^ Rosser, Michael (October 7, 2023). "Korean vigilante feature 'Brave Citizen' kicks off Asia deals". Screen International. Retrieved July 15, 2025.
  6. ^ LeGardye, Quinci (January 20, 2024). "Some of the Best Movies of 2024 Have Hailed From Korea—Here's What Should Be on Your Watchlist". Marie Claire. Retrieved July 15, 2025.
  7. ^ P.S, Sanghavi (August 26, 2024). "Brave Citizen (2024) Movie Ending Explained: Will Si-Min Continue Her Fight Against School Bullying?". High On Films. Retrieved July 16, 2025.
  8. ^ a b c "Fantasia Festival 2024 | Brave Citizen". Fantasia Festival. Retrieved July 16, 2025.
  9. ^ a b Lee, Gyu-lee (October 22, 2023). "Interview | Shin Hye-sun, Lee Jun-young discuss challenges, inspiration in 'Brave Citizen'". The Korea Times. Retrieved July 16, 2025.
  10. ^ Lee, Gyu-lee (July 5, 2024). "Lee Jun-young widens his horizons with 'Dreaming of a Freaking Fairy Tale' - The Korea Times". The Korea Times. Retrieved July 16, 2025.
  11. ^ Daniels, Robert (January 24, 2025). "Five Action Movies to Stream Now". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved July 16, 2025.
  12. ^ a b c d e Cho, Kyung-Geon (October 27, 2023). [경건한 주말] 유치한 ‘용감한 시민’과 난해한 ‘그대들은 어떻게 살 것인가’ [[Pious weekend] Childish 'Brave Citizen' and esoteric 'The Boy and the Heron']. Busan Ilbo (in Korean). Retrieved July 16, 2025.
  13. ^ a b Phillips, Scott (July 29, 2024). "Genre Films From Around The Globe Premiere This Week At Fantasia 2024". Forbes. Retrieved July 16, 2025.
  14. ^ a b c Chew, David (June 7, 2024). "Film Review: Brave Citizen (2023) by Park Jin-pyo". Asian Movie Pulse. Retrieved July 16, 2025.
  15. ^ Ham, Sang-beom (November 2, 2023). “그 빌런이 차우민이야?”…‘용감한 시민’ 속 강렬한 불량미 ‘날선 긴장감’ 선사 ["Is that the villain Cha Woo-Min?" ...Intense rogue beauty in 'Brave Citizen' presents 'Sharp Tension']. Sports Seoul (in Korean). Retrieved July 15, 2025.
  16. ^ Jang, Jeong-yoon (November 1, 2023). 히트작엔 ‘이중옥’이 있다 (용감한 시민) [The hit movie has 'Lee Joong-Ok' (Brave Citizen)]. Sports Trend (in Korean). Retrieved July 15, 2025.
  17. ^ Sohn, Ji-young (August 9, 2018). "Naver Webtoon forms 'Studio N' for webtoon-based film, drama production". The Korea Herald. Retrieved July 16, 2025.
  18. ^ Lee, Seungmi (April 5, 2019). [공식]'마음의소리' 영화화 확정…스튜디오N, 인기 웹툰 9편 드라마·영화 제작 확정 [[Official] 'Sound of Mind' Movie...Studio N confirms production of 9 popular webtoons dramas and movies]. Chosun Ilbo (in Korean). Retrieved July 16, 2025.
  19. ^ Lee, Young-kwan (October 22, 2023). 신선함과 대중성 사이서 밀당…유행·오타쿠만 좇아가면 실패 [Push and pull between freshness and popularity...If you follow the trend and Otaku, you fail]. Nate News (in Korean). Retrieved July 15, 2025.
  20. ^ a b c Kim, Da-sol (October 22, 2023). "[Herald Review] 'Brave Citizen,' a delightful comic action flick that punishes school bullies". The Korea Herald. Retrieved July 15, 2025.
  21. ^ Rashid, Raphael (June 7, 2023). "'We torment others': the dark side of South Korean school life". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved July 16, 2025.
  22. ^ Lee, Jeong-Ho; Lee, Heesu (April 12, 2023). "Netflix Sensation 'The Glory' Spurs Bullying Crackdown in South Korea". Bloomberg UK. Retrieved July 16, 2025.
  23. ^ Park, Jun-hee (April 12, 2023). "S. Korea confirms strengthened policy against school bullying". The Korea Herald. Retrieved July 16, 2025.
  24. ^ Kim, No-eul (October 9, 2021). 신혜선 "영화 '용감한 시민' 주연 제안받고 긍정 검토 중"[공식] [Shin Hye-sun, "I received an offer for the lead role in the movie 'Brave Citizen' and am reviewing it positively"]. Newsen (in Korean). Archived from the original on October 9, 2021. Retrieved July 15, 2025 – via Naver.
  25. ^ Lee, Gyu-lee (November 14, 2021). "Shin Hye-sun, Lee Jun-young to star in new action movie". The Korea Times. Retrieved July 16, 2025.
  26. ^ a b Kim, Hyeon-rok (November 12, 2021). 신혜선‧이준영, 영화 '용감한 시민' 캐스팅…12월 크랭크인[공식] [Shin Hye-sun and Lee Joon-young cast the movie 'Brave Citizen'...the December crank-in]. SPOTV (in Korean). Retrieved July 16, 2025.
  27. ^ a b Jeong, Yu-jin (November 12, 2021). 웹툰 '용감한 시민', 영화화…신혜선·이준영 캐스팅 [Webtoon 'Brave Citizen', Movie...Shin Hye-sun and Lee Joon-young cast]. News1Korea (in Korean). Retrieved July 16, 2025.
  28. ^ Kang, Nae-ri (October 9, 2021). [단독]신혜선, 영화 '용감한 시민' 주인공 캐스팅…올 연말 촬영 돌입 [[Exclusive] Shin Hye-sun casts the main character of the movie 'Brave Citizen'...We'll start filming at the end of this year]. YTN (in Korean). Retrieved July 16, 2025.
  29. ^ "'See You in My 19th Life' actress Shin Hye-sun trained for six months for her boxer avatar in 'Brave Citizen'". The Times of India. October 25, 2023. ISSN 0971-8257. Retrieved July 15, 2025.
  30. ^ Lim, Jeong-won (October 20, 2023). "Shin Hye-sun is the hero everyone aspires to be in 'Brave Citizen'". Korea JoongAng Daily. Retrieved July 15, 2025.
  31. ^ Mo, Shin-jung (June 13, 2024). "[Interview] Shin Hye-sun: From Drama Queen to Icon of Trust in Cinema". K-En News. Retrieved July 16, 2025.
  32. ^ Park, Dong-je (August 4, 2021). 스튜디오N, 영화·드라마·애니메이션 등 차기 라인업 공개..‘기대감 급증’ [Studio N unveils its next lineup of movies, dramas, animations, etc.. 'Expected surge']. Breaking News. Retrieved July 15, 2025.
  33. ^ Nam, Yu-jeong (August 4, 2021). "웹툰 '마음의 소리' '용감한 시민' '상중하' 영화로 만들어진다" 웹툰 ‘마음의 소리’ ‘용감한 시민’ ‘상중하’ 영화로 만들어진다 [Webtoon 'Sound of the Heart', 'Brave Citizen', 'High, Middle, High' Movies to be made]. Busan Ilbo (in Korean). Retrieved July 16, 2025.
  34. ^ a b KOFIC 영화관 입장권 통합전산망: 영화정보 용감한 시민 (Brave Citizen) [KOFIC Movie Theater Tickets Integrated Computer Network: Movie Information Brave Citizen]. KOFIC (in Korean). July 15, 2025. Retrieved July 15, 2025.
  35. ^ Junaini, Hidzir (January 29, 2024). "'Badland Hunters' review: dumb but dynamic dystopian action". NME. Retrieved July 16, 2025.
  36. ^ Pyo, Kyung-min (January 16, 2024). "Korea's action stars unite in Netflix's upcoming 'Badland Hunters'". The Korea Times. Retrieved July 16, 2025.
  37. ^ a b Shackleton, Liz (October 6, 2022). "Korea's Finecut Picks Up Hit Webtoon Adaptation 'Brave Citizen' As Busan Market Kicks Off". Deadline. Retrieved July 15, 2025.
  38. ^ a b c Kim, Da-sol (November 3, 2023). "[Box office] Movies in theaters this week". The Korea Herald. Retrieved July 15, 2025.
  39. ^ "12th Korean Film Festival : Brave Citizen". Cinema Galeries. July 15, 2025. Retrieved July 15, 2025.
  40. ^ Nam, Ji-woo (April 12, 2024). [특집] 동경에서 사랑으로, 차우민 [[Special] From Tokyo to love, Cha Woo-min]. Cine21 (in Korean). Retrieved July 15, 2025.
  41. ^ 용감한 시민, 2023 [Brave Citizen, 2023]. Naver Movies. Retrieved July 16, 2025.
  42. ^ Brave Citizen (2023). Retrieved July 16, 2025 – via Letterboxd.
  43. ^ 영화 [용감한 시민] 상세정보 [Film [Brave Citizen] Details]. Cine21 (in Korean). Retrieved July 16, 2025.
  44. ^ "Lee Jun-young emerges as breakout star of Netflix romance series 'Melo Movie'". The Korea Times. February 18, 2025. Retrieved July 16, 2025.
  45. ^ Kim, Da-sol (October 24, 2023). "Lee Jun-young shows new level of villain in latest role". The Korea Herald. Retrieved July 16, 2025.
  46. ^ Kautzer, A. W. (July 26, 2024). "Brave Citizen – Fantasia Film Festival 2024". The Movie Isle. Retrieved July 16, 2025.
  47. ^ Fremont, Lisa (July 24, 2024). "FANTASIA 24 REVIEW: BRAVE CITIZEN". Haddonfield Horror. Retrieved July 16, 2025.
  48. ^ a b c Yoo, Seon-ah (October 25, 2023). [리뷰] ‘용감한 시민’, 학교폭력에 어퍼컷을 날리다 [[Review] 'Brave Citizen' Hits Upper Cut On School Violence]. Cine21 (in Korean). Retrieved July 16, 2025.
  49. ^ Yim, Seung-hye (December 14, 2023). "School violence, as told by three different films". Korea JoongAng Daily. Retrieved July 16, 2025.
  50. ^ Lee, Golden (July 20, 2024). "Fantasia XXVIII Review: In BRAVE CITIZEN, Shin Hae-Sun Takes Bullies To School!". Film Combat Syndicate. Retrieved July 16, 2025.
  51. ^ Vincent, Maxance (July 24, 2024). "Fantasia Fest 2024: Brave Citizen Meows Fantasia Audience Away". The Cosmic Circus. Retrieved July 16, 2025.
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