Just Friends?


Just Friends First Choice
Film info

Director: Kim-jho Kwang-soo
Cast: Yeon Woo-jin, Lee Je-hoon
Film genre: Comedy
Cert 18, 30 mins, 2010

The second in a trilogy of gay short films drawn from director Kim-jho Kwang-soo’s own experiences, Just Friends depicts the relationship between Min-soo, a young man in the midst of his compulsory military service, and his lover Seok-i (played by star-to-be Lee Je-hoon [Bleak Night, I Can Speak] in his acting debut), and the strain caused by the discovery of their more-than-friendly relations by Min-soo’s devoutly religious mother. Director Kim-jho deftly utilises both camp musical sequences and a moving, naturalistic portrayal of both characters, while exploring the short-sightedness of Korean institutions and the discrimination faced by gay men in love in Korean society.