Overview of Train to Busan
Profile
- Movie name: Train To Busan (English title) / For Busan (literal title)
- Genre: Action / Suspense-Thriller
- Director: Yeon Sang-ho
- Assistant Director: Min Hong-nam
- Writer: Park Joo-suk, Yeon Sang-ho
- Producers: Lee Dong-ha, Kim Yeon-ho
- Cinematographer: Lee Hyung-duk
- World Premiere: May, 2016 (Cannes Film Festival)
- Release Date: July 20, 2016
- Genre: Action / Suspense-Thriller
- Distributor: Next Entertainment World
- Language: Korean
- Country: South Korea
Cast
Main
Gong Yoo as Seok-woo
Seok-woo is a workaholic and a divorced father who prioritizes his career over his family. He struggles to connect with his daughter and often neglects her needs due to his busy lifestyle. However, as the story progresses, Seok-woo shows a strong sense of responsibility and tries to protect those around him when faced with danger. Through the course of his journey, he learns to value the importance of family and selflessness.
Ma Dong-seok as Yoon Sang-hwa
One of the passengers on the train and the husband of Seong-kyeong, a pregnant woman. He shows great bravery in times of danger to protect others. He is also really affectionate towards his pregnant wife.
Jung Yu-mi as Seong-kyeong
Jung Yu-mi is a pregnant lady on the train. She is also the wife of Sang-hwa.
Kim Su-an as Su-an
Su-an is the daughter of Seok-woo. She thinks that her father is selfish and because of this she wants to be with her mother. However, she later realises the humanity that her father holds.
Choi Woo-shik as Min Yong-guk
Min Yong-guk is one of the passengers on the train. He is a high school baseball player.
So-hee as Kim Jin-hee
Jin-hee is a cheerleader of a high school basketball team travelling on the train. She has a crush on Min Yong-guk, one of the players in the team.
Kim Eui-sung as Yon-suk
A selfish business executive who is travelling on the train to meet his mother in Busan.
Supporting
- Choi Gwi-hwa is a homeless man.
- Jang Hyuk-jin as Ki-chul, a train attendant.
- Park Myung-sin as Jong-gil.
- Ye Soo-jung as In-gil.
- Jeong Seok-yong is the captain of the train.
Synopsis
Seok-woo is a divorced man and a single parent to his daughter Su-an. He works as a fund manager for a prominent company in Seoul. Seok-woo struggles with the guilt of not being able to spend enough time with his daughter due to his busy work schedule, so he decides to fulfil her wish of seeing her mother on her birthday. He escorts her to Busan via a train from Seoul.
Things get a bitter turn when a weird-looking woman runs onto the train, just before the train departs. She turns into a zombie and begins to attack the passengers. The infection spreads rapidly throughout the train. Within a short span of time, half of the train gets infected.
The rest of the passengers who did not get the infection, including a pregnant woman named Seong-kyeong and her husband Sang-hwa, two students Yong-guk and his girlfriend Jin-hee from a high school baseball team, elderly sisters In-gil and Jong-gil, train attendant Ki-chul, a homeless man, Seok-woo and his daughter shift into a different compartment.
After watching the news on TV, they get to know that a contagious infection is spreading rapidly throughout the country. According to an instruction given by the government, the surviving passengers depart at Daejeon Station. They get shocked seeing the condition there. The military, who were there to protect them, had turned to zombies after getting infected. They rush back onto the train, but they get separated into different compartments.
The pregnant wife of Sang-hwa, the daughter of Seok-woo, high school student Jin-hee, the homeless man and one of the older women get trapped in a washroom in one of the compartments. To protect them, Seok-woo, Sang-hwa and Yong-guk fight with zombies to make their way. They regroup and make their way to the compartment where the other passengers are. However, a selfish man named Yeon-suk compels the other passengers to prevent the survivors from entering, as they fear they might be infected.
Meanwhile, Sang-hwa and the other older woman, In-gil, bravely sacrifice themselves to buy time for the others to break open the compartment door and enter it. Eventually, they were able to get inside the compartment.
However, they are forced to relocate to a different compartment because of Yon-suk and other passengers’ demands. Meanwhile, Jong-gil, who is deeply affected by the passing of her older sister, opens the door allowing the zombies to come in and attack those who prevented the survivors from entering the compartment. However, Yon-suk and the train attendant, Ki-chul, managed to escape by hiding in the bathroom.
When the train stops due to a blockage in the rail, the rest of the survivors begin to search for another train. Yon-suk betrays the other passengers and causes deaths by pushing them into zombies. However, Yon-suk gets infected and turned into a zombie. While fighting with Yon-suk, Seok-woo gets bitten and decides to sacrifice himself to save his daughter and Seong-kyeong.
Seong-kyeong and Su-an reach a tunnel and are almost shot by snipers who are there to kill the infected. However, by hearing Susan singing a song, the snipers get to know that they are not infected and rush to save them.
Importance of Humanity: The main theme of Train to Busan
‘Train to Busan’ is trying to convey the message of humanity, and how people react and behave in times of crisis. Throughout the film, the characters are tested in various ways, from the initial outbreak of the zombie virus to the dangerous and life-threatening situations they encounter on the train.
The film portrays a range of reactions from the different characters, some of whom act selflessly to help others, while others act self-centred. Seok-woo, the protagonist of the film, initially prioritizes only his and his daughter’s safety, but he eventually learns to care for others too.
In contrast, Yeon-suk, one of the other passengers on the train, is only concerned for his own survival, and he ultimately causes the deaths of several other characters for his own sake. However, as the film progresses, we also see characters evolve and change in unexpected ways. Sang-hwa, who initially seems brash and abrasive, becomes a loyal and heroic friend to Seok-woo, while the elder woman, In-gil and the homeless man show remarkable bravery and resilience in the face of danger to protect others.
Therefore, ‘Train to Busan’ emphasizes the importance of humanity through empathy, compassion, and cooperation in times of crisis. The film portrays the capacity of individuals to rise to the occasion and put aside their differences to help one another, even in the face of seemingly inscrutable obstacles.
Awards
- Blue Dragon Film Awards (2016)
Technical Award (special make-up)- Kwak Tae-yong and Hwang Hyo-gyoon
Audience Choice Award for Most Popular Film – Train to Busan - Buil Film Awards (2016)
Best Supporting Actor – Kim Eui-sung
Yu Hyun-mok Film Arts Award – Yeon Sang-ho - Korean Association of Film Critics Awards (2016)
Technical Award- Train to Busan - Baeksang Arts Awards (2017)
Best Supporting Actor – Kim Eui-sung
Best New Director – Yeon Sang-ho - Chunsa Film Awards (2017)
Technical Award – Kwak Tae-yong
Special Audience Award for Best Film – Train to Busan
A Still from “Train To Busan” (2016). Credit: Pinterest
Interesting Facts about Train to Busan
- ‘Train to Busan’ made its premiere at the 2016 Cannes Film Festival.
- The actors in ‘Train to Busan’ Gong Yoo and Jung Yu-mi worked together in the movie ‘The Crucible’ in 2011.
- An animated prequel and a sequel of ‘Train to Busan’ titled ‘Seoul Station’ and ‘Peninsula’ was released in 2016 and 2020 respectively.
- The production team of ‘Train to Busan’ took reference for zombie movements from the game ‘7 Days to Die’ and from the media franchise ‘Ghost in the Shell’ and ‘Silent Hill’.
FAQs
- Who is the director of the movie ‘Train to Busan’?
Yeon Sang-ho. - What is the genre of the movie ‘Train to Busan’?
Action/Suspense-Thriller. - Who are the lead actors in the movie ‘Train to Busan’?
The movie features Gong Yoo, Jung Yu-mi, Ma Dong-seok, Kim Su-an, Choi Woo-shik, Ahn So-hee, and Kim Eui-sung in lead roles. - What is the Instagram ID of Gong Yoo and Choi Woo-shik?
gongyoo_official – Gong Yoo and dntlrdl – Choi Woo-shik
