Like a Virgin (film)
Like a Virgin (Korean: 천하장사 마돈나; RR: Cheonhajangsa Madonna; literally Strong Man Under Heaven Madonna) is a 2006 South Korean comedy-drama film written and directed by Lee Hae-jun and Lee Hae-young.[2][3] Ryu Deok-hwan stars in the lead role as transgender teenager Oh Dong-ku, and won several domestic awards for his performance, as well as a nomination for the Asia Pacific Screen Award Best Performance by an Actor.[4] The film's English title is a reference to a Madonna song of the same name.
| Like a Virgin | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Hangul | 천하장사 마돈나 |
| Hanja | 天下壯士 마돈나 |
| Revised Romanization | Cheonhajangsa Madonna |
| McCune–Reischauer | Ch'ŏnhachangsa Madonna |
| Directed by | Lee Hae-jun Lee Hae-young |
| Produced by | Cha Seung-jae Kim Mi-hee Kim Moo-ryoung Im Choong-ryul Yun Sang-oh |
| Written by | Lee Hae-jun Lee Hae-young |
| Starring | Ryu Deok-hwan Baek Yoon-sik Lee Eon Lee Sang-ah Kim Yoon-seok |
| Music by | Kim Hong-jib |
| Cinematography | Jo Yong-gyu |
| Edited by | Nam Na-yeong |
| Distributed by | CJ Entertainment |
Release date |
|
Running time | 116 minutes |
| Country | South Korea |
| Language | Korean |
| Budget | US$2.5 million |
| Box office | US$3,547,188[1] |
Plot
Chubby high school student and Madonna-devotee Oh Dong-ku is a trans woman living with her abusive, alcoholic father. Dong-ku works part-time to save money for the sex reassignment surgery she craves. Despite being told that she has the perfect physique for ssireum, Dong-ku has no interest in taking up sports—but when she finds out about an upcoming ssireum tournament with a large cash prize going to the winner, she changes her mind and signs up for the team.
Cast
- Ryu Deok-hwan as Oh Dong-ku
- Baek Yoon-sik as Coach
- Lee Sang-ah as Dong-ku's mother
- Lee Eon as Park Joon-woo
- Moon Se-yun as Big guy 1
- Kim Yong-hoon as Big guy 2
- Yoon Won-seok as Big guy 3
- Park Young-seo as Jong-man
- Tsuyoshi Kusanagi as Japanese teacher
- Kim Yoon-seok as Dong-ku's father
- Kim Kyeong-ik as Jin-chul
- Oh Yoon-hong as Company president's wife
- Choi Jung-woo as Company president
- Kwak Min-seok as Priest
- Kim Do-yeon as Large female employee
- Kim Won-sik as Oh Dong-chul
- Kwon Oh-jin as Worker
- Jang Nam-yeol as Homeroom teacher
- Lee Jae-gu as Employee at labor office
- Kim Tae-joon as Choir member at concert hall
- Kwon Jae-won as Lawyer
Awards and nominations
References
- "Cheonhajangsa Madonna (Like a Virgin)". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 2012-11-19.
- Lee Min-a, Sylvia Kim (21 August 2006). "Tender wrestler fights for a sex change in film". Korea JoongAng Daily. Retrieved 2012-11-19.
- Park, Soo-mee (2 January 2007). "Sad situation makes an uplifting tale". Korea JoongAng Daily. Retrieved 2012-11-19.
- "Ryu: 'No answer to understanding how women think'". Korea JoongAng Daily. 21 August 2006. Archived from the original on 15 July 2012. Retrieved 2012-11-19.
- D'sa, Nigel (21 December 2006). "BONG's Host Takes Top Prize at Blue Dragon". Korean Film Biz Zone. Retrieved 2014-10-12.
- Yi, Chang-ho (9 May 2007). "HAN Hyo-ju and Like a Virgin Win at Singapore Fest". Korean Film Biz Zone. Retrieved 2014-10-12.
- "43rd Baeksang Arts Awards". Twitch Film. 27 April 2007. Archived from the original on 19 October 2014. Retrieved 2014-10-12.
- "Fantasia 2007 Prizes Announced". Fantasia International Film Festival. 25 July 2007. Retrieved 2014-10-12.
- "4th Grand Bell Awards: Family Ties Wins Best Film". Twitch Film. 9 June 2007. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 2014-10-12.