The film adaptation of the popular Korean webtoon ‘Brave Citizen’ is finally kicking its way to the Philippines.

The film adaptation of the popular Korean webtoon ‘Brave Citizen’ is finally kicking its way to the Philippines. Shin Hye-sun stars as a vigilante teacher in the action-comedy from award-winning director Park Jin-pyo.

Si-min (Hye-sun) is a promising boxer who relinquishes her shot at Olympic glory to help her father pay off his debt first. Her sacrifice of putting aside her dreams as a national athlete is teaching her the harsh reality that life is indeed full of injustice.

She takes on a new role as a substitute high school teacher, a position that regular teachers and students look down upon. Si-min remains resilient as she faces this prejudice so that she can be a full-time teacher one day. In order to attain this, she must control her rage. In other words: no boxing.

 

However, Si-min is put to the test when she encounters Su-gang (Lee Jun-young), a clever but cruel student who preys on the weak for his own enjoyment. He is rich, spoiled, and possesses formidable fighting abilities that even the teachers are unable to reprimand him.  

One evening, she sees Su-gang violently assaulting someone. This time, she feels she has had enough. Donning a cat mask, Si-min takes justice to her own fists by beating Su-gang. For the first time in his life, Su-gang loses in a fight. Now, he is determined to bring down his masked assailant.

Being a bystander to cruelty and injustice may be the easy thing to do, but not for Si-min. She will spare no effort to be the “purr-fect” hero even if her secret identity is now in jeopardy.

The original webtoon, written and illustrated by Kim Jung-hyun, soared to the top in popularity when it was published on the Comico platform. Additionally, it garnered high praise on Naver Webtoon in Korea, boasting an average rating of 9.6 stars. It also amassed an impressive 2.27 million views on Line Webtoon in Taiwan.

During a press screening held in Seoul last October, director Park said that he did not expect the film’s main themes to become relevant social issues, as he begun work on the film a few years before they became hot topics in Korea. “School violence and teachers’ rights issues are something that have been going on from long ago. It was just something not well known to many people, or many people would just shun it. Now, those issues are becoming more exposed to the world.” 

He also shared insights on his casting decision, noting that Shin is his only choice to play the role of Si-min. He compared Shin to an empty canvas, adept at embodying any role. However, filming the action scenes posed a challenge for Shin, given that she did not use a stunt double. “I trained with a martial arts master and learned to box and deliver punches and kicks,” Shin said in an interview with Korea JoongAng Daily. “I am quite tall, but I have no core strength, so I looked very flimsy at first doing the action scenes. But as I trained, I settled into it well and I am satisfied with the end results.”

We can now add boxer and teacher to the long list of characters Shin has portrayed to perfection throughout her acting career, further solidifying her status as one of South Korea’s most distinguished actresses. She is best known for her leading roles in the films ‘Collectors’ and ‘Innocence,’ and in the television series ‘My Golden Life.’

 

 

窗体底端

Meanwhile, Director Park praised Lee’s ability to convey a villain’s emotions as the vicious student. Lee, a former member of the K-pop group U-KISS, is a fast-rising actor who has appeared in remarkable acting projects such as ‘Love and Leashes’ and ‘D.P.’

‘Brave Citizen’ promises to bring a solid punch of comedy and a touching kick to the heart. It also stars Cha Cheong-hwa, Park Hyuk-kwon, and Park Jeong-woo. Opens March 6, 2024 in cinemas nationwide.