• Name: ‘Miracle in Cell No. 7’
• Starring: Ryu Seung-ryong, Kal So-won, Park Shin-hye
• Genre: Drama, Comedy
• Directed by: Lee Hwan-kyung
• Written by: Yu Young-a, Lee Hwan-kyung, Kim Young-seok, Kim Hwang-sung,
• Cinematography: Kang Seung-gi
• Produced by: Kim Min-ki, Lee Sang-hun
• Distributed by: Next Entertainment World
• Production Company: Fineworks/CL Entertainment
• Edited by: Choi Jae-geun, Kim So-yeon
• Music by: Lee Dong-jun
• Running time: 127 minutes
• Language: Korean
• Release date: 23 January 2013.
• Country: South Korea

• Ryu Seung-ryong as Lee Yong-gu
• So-won as Lee Ye-sung
• Park Shin-hye as adult Lee Ye-sung
• Oh Dal-su as So Yang-ho
• Park Won-Sang as Choi Chun-ho
• Kim Jung-tae as Kang Man-beom
• Jung Man-sik as Shin Bong-shik
• Kim Ki-cheon as Old Man Da-do
• Kang Ye-seo as Choi Ji-yeon

Special Appearances

• Jung Jin-young as Jang Min-hwan

Synopsis

Ye-sung is a young lawyer who is on a mission to gain justice for her late father who was executed sixteen years ago due to a false case. In the light of her strong advocacy, the court issues a new ruling and proclaims her late father, Yong-gu, innocent. When she steps out of the courtroom successfully, she gets a vision of a balloon stuck on a bob wire. The scene takes the audience to the flashback.

The story begins in 1997, when Ye-sung was 6-years-old. She lives with her single father, Yong-gu, who is intellectually disabled.

One day, the duo sees a Sailor Moon themed backpack (a manga character) through a shop’s window. Yong-gu promises Ye-sung that he will buy her the bag when he gets his salary. However, the bag gets sold out in front of their eyes. Yong-gu deeply desires to buy the bag for his daughter. Therefore, he runs after the father and daughter who get the bag. Seeing him running towards them, the father, who happens to be a police officer, strikes him down.

The next day, the police officer’s daughter recognises Yong-gu on the streets. The child runs towards him to tell about another shop that sells Sailor Moon backpacks. Since the floor is slippery, she tumbles down and the unexpected fall of a brick from above causes her death. Even though the intentions are pure, Yong-gu’s attempt of giving the child CPR is misjudged by the bystanders and he becomes the culprit of her death. He is accused of physical abuse and murder for the girl.

Soon he will be arrested and imprisoned in cell no. 7. Since he is sent to jail as a child abuser and murderer, he will be rudely treated by the fellow prisoners. In addition to his fabricated crimes, his mental disability and behaviours trigger his cell mates. However, the prisoners start to behave nicely to him after he saves his cell mate and also the gang leader from the attack of a rival prisoner. The gang leader Yang-ho offers any help that he can do for Yong-gu. In return for the favor, Yong-gu asks Yang-ho to help him see his daughter Ye-sung.

When Ye-sung and her friends visit the prison for a choir performance, Yang-ho and his friends kidnap Ye-sung and take her to their cell. Yong-gu and his friends manage to hide her for a night in their cells, but shortly her presence will be discovered by the jail warden.

Through Yong-gu’s behavior, the warden becomes convinced about his innocence. Also, he starts to have a special affection for Yong-gu when he saves the warden from an arson attack. Therefore, he allows Ye-sung to meet her father after school.

Yong-gu’s cellmates prepare him to answer the expected questions that will be asked to him in the court for the upcoming trial. However, before Yong-gu is taken to the trail room, the commissioner captures him and assaults him to confess the crime. Also, he threatens him by telling him that he will kill his daughter if he refuses to accept the crime. Therefore, he accepts the false crime of killing the girl, though he mastered every answer taught by his friends.

To save his daughter, Yong-gu confesses the crime.

The court announces Yong-gu as the little girl’s murderer and he will be sentenced to death. Unfortunately, his execution falls on the birth date of Ye-sung’s birthday. An overwhelmed prisoners try to save Yong-gu and his daughter by helping them escape through a hot air balloon. However, the plan fails and Yong-gu gets captured again when the balloon gets stuck on a barbed wire.

Later, the prisoners celebrate Ye-sung’s birthday before Yong-gu’s execution.

The flashback ends by showing the happy faces of Ye-sung, the former prisoners and friends of Yong-gu, and the warden. When the court reverses the former verdict and declares a reinvestigation on the case, the father of the late child sits in silence accepting innocence of Yong-gu after 16 years.

The movie ends by returning to the first scene where Ye-sung, like in a trance, looks at a hot air balloon where she sees her younger self and her father. The balloon slowly flies to the sky while her father and younger self wave her goodbye.

Theme

The movie ‘Miracle in Cell. No. 7’ shows the unconditional love between an intellectually disabled father and his daughter. The story clearly shows that intelligence is not a mandatory factor of loving someone deeply. Yong-gu, the mentally challenged father sacrifices his life to save his daughter’s future.

The daughter, who was unable to raise her voice against the injustice that happened to her father, gains the power through education, and after sixteen years she advocates to prove the innocence of her father.

When Yong-gu sacrificed his life for his daughter, Ye-sung, his daughter decides her life’s mission is to deliver justice for her late father.

Awards

Interesting Facts about Miracle in Cell No. 7

1. ‘Miracle in Cell No. 7’ was a great success in South Korea, especially among the audience in the age group of middle age and above.
2. ‘Miracle in Cell No. 7’ was released during the time of the lunar new year. Therefore, according to the analysts, the public holidays were a great factor that boosted the successes of the film. Also, it got popular through word of mouth.
3. Due to its high popularity, ‘Miracle in Cell No. 7’ became the seventh highest grossing South Korean film of all time.
4. The movie’s tickets were sold for 12.23 million on the 52nd day of its release.
5. In 2019, the Turkish director Mehmet Ads Öztekin made a Turkish adaptation of the movie with the same name, but with notable changes in its plot.

FAQs

1. Which actor performed the role of Lee Yong-gu in the South Korean movie ‘Miracle in Cell No. 7’?
   The South Korean actor Ryu Seung-ryong played the role of Lee Yong-gu in the South Korean movie ‘Miracle in Cell No. 7’.
2. What is the Instagram ID of Ryu Seung-ryong?
   @ryuseungryong_.
3. What is the Instagram ID of Park Shin-hye?
   @ssinz7.
4. When was the movie ‘Miracle in Cell No.7’ released?
   23 January 2013.
5. Who is the director of ‘Miracle in cell No. 7’?
   
   Lee Hwan-kyung.