Overview of Silenced

‘Silenced’ is a South Korean film released on 22 September 2011 and distributed by CJ Entertainment. The film featuring Gong Yoo and Jung Yu-mi is directed by Hwang Dong-hyuk. The movie is centred on a group of deaf children studying in a deaf school. Gong Yoo as Kang In-ho joins the school as a teacher. His interaction with the students discloses the hidden truths of sexual abuse buried in the grounds of the Academy.

The film got critical appreciation from the audience and received multiple awards. Also, the film provoked a need to reinvestigate the crimes towards differently-abled people forcing the government to pass a new bill which secures their safety.

Profile

• Name: Silenced
• Genre: Thriller
• Starring: Gong Yoo, Jung Yu-mi
• Director: Hwang Dong-hyuk
• Produced by: Uhm Yong-hun, Bae Jeong-min, Na Byung-joon
• Production Company: Samgeori Pictures
• Written by: Hwang Dong-hyuk
• Edited by: Hahm Sung-won
• Cinematography: Kim Ji-yong
• Distributed by: CJ Entertainment
• Music by: Mowg
• Running time: 125 minutes
• Release date: 22 September 2011
• Languages: Korean, Korean Sign Language
• Country: South Korea

Cast

• Gong Yoo as Kang In-ho
• Jung Yu-mi as Seo Yoo-jin
• Jung In-seo as Jin Yoo-ri
• Baek Seung-hwan as Jeon Min-su
• Kim Hyun-soo as Kim Yeon-doo
• Im Hyeon-seong as Young-hoon
• Kim Ji-young as In-ho’s mother
• Jang Gwang as headmaster twin brothers Lee Kang-suk and Lee Kang-bok
• Um Hyo-sup as police officer Jang
• Kim Joo-ryoung as Yoon Ja-ae
• Kwon Yoo-jin as judge
• Kim Min-sang as Park Bo-hyun
• Kim Ji-young as Kim Sol-yi (In-ho’s daughter)
• Jeon Kuk-hwan as Attorney Hwang
• Choi Jin-ho as prosecutor
• Nam Myung-ryul as Professor Kim Jung-woo
• Park Hye-jin as headmaster’s wife
• Jang So-yeon as courtroom sign language interpreter
• Eom Ji-seong as Young-soo
• Lee Sang-hee as auto repair shop owner
• Hong Suk-youn as school custodian/guard

Synopsis

Kang In-ho, in the hope of overcoming his bitter past, is embracing his passion for teaching. It’s been a year since his wife committed suicide and his only daughter is under the care of his mother. He joins the Benevolence Academy to teach the deaf students. The academy is situated at Mujin, a fictional land.

Despite In-ho’s enthusiasm, the students always tried to keep a distance from him. After putting all his genuine efforts on the plate, he succeeds in communicating with them. The open communication with the students uncovers the untold stories of physical and sexual abuse that they face.

In-ho decides to stand up for the students against the school administration and the staff. For that, he joins up with Seo Yoo-jin, an activist. However, things are more complicated than they thought. Their discoveries about the Academy were shocking. Instead of protecting the vulnerables, like the students in the school, the people who hold political powers are in support of the school’s administration.

Lee brothers, the school administration is good at flexing the law the way they want. They bribe the court to lessen the punishment. Having the money to gain the licence to corrupt others and live the way they like is something that they boast about.

As always, the night after celebrating the victory, Park, the rapist and also a staff at Benevolence Academy returns home. Park raped a student named Min-su and is happy to escape from the crime by bribing the judge. The molested Min-su determines to get rid of Park once and for all. He jumps in front of Park with a knife in his hand.

Park is happy to see Min-su again. He grabs the boy to take him home to abuse him again. In the attempt, Min-su stabs him. However, the wound does not have an impact that collapses Park to the ground. An angry Park chases Min-su to kill him. He pins the boy to the ground and kicks him. However, Min-su hurts Park by making his wound bleed and escape from Park’s clutches.

Min-su decides not to let Park overpower him this time. In the fight, Min-su sticks him to a railway track without minding if he loses his life in the fight. He lets the train to take away their lives.

The next day, In-ho, Yoori, Yeondo and the students of the school mourn the loss of Min-su. To remove the crowd and the activist, the police tries to use their force. The deaf and mute students do not react to the warning of the police. Therefore, the police use water cannons on them. Amidst the chaos, In-ho calls the attention of the crowd by shouting out the name of Min-su. Later, an email appears on In-ho’s screen stating the progress in the children’s situation.

Theme

Child Abuse

The film explicitly speaks for disabled people in society. The film successfully reached almost all parts of Korea. The theme which is based on the real-life incidents created a tornado in South Korea. The vulnerable community such as the deaf and mute students in the society do not know whom to approach for justice and safety they deserve. Taking advantage of their innocense and the inability to communicate with others, puts them in a never-ending cycle of abuse. Also, the film criticises the greedy powerholders who support the criminals in the society who make their journey to achieve justice packed with hurdles.

Awards

• 32nd Blue Dragon Film Awards 2011
  Best Music – Mowg
  Popular Star Award – Gong Yoo
• KOFRA Film Awards 2012
  Best Film
• Udine Far East Film Festival 2012
  Audience Award – Hwang Dong-hyuk
  Black Dragon Audience Award – Hwang Dong-hyuk

Interesting Facts about Silenced

1. ‘Silenced’ is inspired from the novel ‘The Crucible’ by Gong Ji-young.
2. The film ‘Silenced’ is based on true events that happened in a deaf school in Gwangju Inhwa in the beginning of the 2000s.
3. ‘Silenced’ created a wave among the Korean audience. It compelled the government to strengthen the law supporting the differently-abled community in society.
4. ‘Silenced’ was the No.1 movie for three weeks continuously and after completing ten weeks of screening it accumulated a total of 35 billion.
5. The popularity of ‘Silenced’ triggered the sale of the original book which inspired the film.

FAQs

1. When is ‘Silenced’ released?
   22 September 2011.
2. Who is the director of ‘Silenced’?
   Hwang Dong-hyuk.
3. What is the Instagram ID of Gong Yoo?
   @gongyoo_official.