The Show Must Go On (2007 film)

The Show Must Go On
Theatrical release poster
Hangul
우아한 세계
Hanja
우아한 世界
RRUahan segye
MRUahan segye
Directed byHan Jae-rim
Written byHan Jae-rim
Produced byKang Tae-woo
Jeong Young-joo
StarringSong Kang-ho
Park Ji-young
Oh Dal-su
Yoon Je-moon
Choi Il-hwa
CinematographyPark Yong-soo
Edited byKim Sun-min
Music byYoko Kanno
Distributed byLotte Entertainment
Release date
  • 5 April 2007 (2007-04-05)
Running time
112 minutes
CountrySouth Korea
LanguageKorean
Box officeUS$6.7 million[1]

The Show Must Go On (Korean: 우아한 세계; RR: Uahan segye; lit. 'Elegant World') is a 2007 South Korean black comedy crime film written and directed by Han Jae-rim. The film stars Song Kang-ho as a full-time gangster who aspires to be a full-time husband and dad. It was released theatrically in South Korea on 5 April 2007.

Plot

Unlike most men who hold titles like "Manager" or "Director", Kang In-gu is called "Boss". But beyond his unconventional profession, his love for his family is just like any other hardworking father in South Korea. Each day, he balances his life between being a dedicated enforcer for the organization and playing the role of a caring dad—all in pursuit of his dream: to live elegantly with his family in a quiet countryside home. The elegant life he longs for seems within reach, but constant demands from his family to leave his job—and the tense rivalry with the organization's second-in-command, Noh Sang-moo—threaten to pull him further away from that dream.

Cast

  • Song Kang-ho as Kang In-gu
  • Park Ji-young as Mi-ryung
  • Oh Dal-su as Hyun-soo
  • Yoon Je-moon as Director Noh Sang-moo
  • Choi Il-hwa as Chairman Noh
  • Kim So-eun as Hee-soo
  • Choi Jong-ryul as owner of dumpling restaurant
  • Jung In-gi as police chief
  • Kim Kyeong-ik as Hee-soo's teacher
  • Kwon Tae-won as police chief of police substation
  • Lee Dae-yeon as company president Baek
  • Oh Jung-se as manager
  • Lydia Park as female employee
  • Lee Yong-yi as granny in broken-down home
  • Min Seong-wook as Director Noh's subordinate
  • Son Se-bin as daughter of woman in mourning
  • Park Jin-woo as reporter
  • Lee Jang-hoon as Yong-seok

Release

The film was released in South Korea on April 5, 2007, and received a total of 1,025,781 admissions nationwide.[2]

Accolades

Award ceremony Year Category Nominee Result Ref.
Baeksang Arts Awards 2008 Best Actor Song Kang-ho Nominated [3]
Blue Dragon Film Awards 2007 Best Film The Show Must Go On Won [4]
Best Director Han Jae-rim Nominated
Best Actor Song Kang-ho Won
Best Screenplay Han Jae-rim Nominated
Best Music Yoko Kanno Nominated
Grand Bell Awards 2007 Best Supporting Actress Park Ji-young Nominated [5]

References

  1. ^ "Woo-ah-han Sae-gye (The Show Must Go On) (2007)". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 15 November 2008.
  2. ^ "Box-Office Admission Results (2007) Archived 2019-06-22 at the Wayback Machine". Koreanfilm.org. Retrieved 15 November 2008.
  3. ^ "The 44th PaekSang Arts Awards Sparkles with Stars". KBS World. 24 April 2008. Archived from the original on 2 September 2017. Retrieved 24 September 2025.
  4. ^ "Show Must Go on Wins Blue Dragon Award Archived 2016-03-04 at the Wayback Machine". KBS World. 24 November 2007. Retrieved 15 November 2008.
  5. ^ D'Sa, Nigel (7 June 2007). "44th Grand Bell Award Nominations". Korean Film Biz Zone. Archived from the original on 2020-09-19. Retrieved 2025-09-24.