Pawn (Korean담보; RRDambo; MRlit: Collateral) is a 2020 South Korean comedy drama film, directed by Kang Dae-gyu and produced by Yoon Je-kyoon.[2] The film starring Sung Dong-il, Ha Ji-won, Kim Hee-won and Park So-yi, is a human drama which revolves around two debt collectors, Doo-seok (Sung Dong-il) and Jong-bae (Kim Hee-won), who take nine-year-old girl Seung-yi (Park So-yi) as "collateral" from her mother, an illegal immigrant.[3]

Pawn
Theatrical release poster
Hangul
담보
Revised RomanizationDambo
Directed byKang Dae-gyu
Written byYoon Je-kyoon
Produced byYoon Je-kyoon
Starring
CinematographyYoon Joo-hwan
Edited byYang Jin-mo
Production
companies
JK Film
Redrover Co Ltd
Film Company Youn
Distributed byCJ Entertainment
Release date
  • September 29, 2020 (2020-09-29)
Running time
113 minutes
CountrySouth Korea
LanguageKorean
Box officeUS$13.6 million[1]

The film was released in theaters on September 29, 2020.[4] It received generally positive reviews and became the sixth-highest-grossing Korean film of 2020.[5][6]

Synopsis

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In 1993, Doo-Seok (Sung Dong-il) and Jong-bae (Kim Hee-won) work as debt collectors in Incheon, South Korea. While collecting a debt from Myung-Ja (Yunjin Kim), they take her nine-year-old daughter Seung-Yi (Park So-Yi) as collateral. Myung-Ja is an illegal immigrant and she is deported from South Korea. Suddenly, Doo-Seok and Jong-bae become Seung-Yi's guardians. The two men and the girl eventually form a family-like bond as they live together.

Cast

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Friendly appearance

Production

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Casting

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In March 2019, Sung Dong-il, Ha Ji-won and Yunjin Kim were cast in the film.[9] The script reading was held in April 2019 in presence of Sung Dong-il, Ha Ji-won, Yunjin Kim, Kim Hee-won and child actor Park So-yi.[10]

Filming

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Principal photography began in Incheon on April 22, 2019.[10] Filming wrapped up on July 31.[7]

Release

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The film was screened at the opening gala of the London Korean Film Festival on October 29, 2020.[11]

Reception

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Box office

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The film was released on September 29, 2020 on 1342 screens and it has been topping the box office since September 30, according to the Korean Film Council (KOFIC). The film attracted an audience of 1.3 million nationwide as of October 12, 2020.[2]

According to Korean Film Council data†, Pawn with gross of US$13.60 million and 1.72 million admissions, ranked at 8th place among all the Korean films released in the year 2020.[12]

  • †The system of KOBIS (Korean Box Office Information System) is managed by KOFIC.
Admissions

Based on the Integrated Computer Network for Cinema Admission Tickets

As of Cumulative admissions Ref.
January 4, 2021 1,719,719 persons [1]
Admissions (persons)

as of respective weekend date

Week ending Admissions (cumulative)[13] BO rank
As of December 6, 2020 1,718,991
As of November 29, 2020 1,717,763
As of November 22, 2020 1,717,051
As of November 15, 2020 1,714,518
As of November 8, 2020 1,702,252 3rd
As of November 1, 2020 1,665,270 2nd
As of October 25, 2020 1,579,196[14]
As of October 18, 2020 1,448,734[15]
As of October 11, 2020 1,241,310[4] 1st
As of October 4, 2020 821,475

Critical response

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Going by Korean review aggregator Naver Movie Database, the film holds an approval rating of 9.17 from the audience.[16] William Schwartz reviewing Pawn for HanCinema said that the film has more cuteness than the plot. He criticized the dressing and demeanor of Doo-seok (played by Sung Dong-il) and Jong-bae (played by Kim Hee-won), in the beginning of the film. He opined that the film outshone because of chemistry between the lead actors. The film made people cry, even when editing technique of foreshadowing the plot was used. Further he praised the film for the message it conveyed about non-traditional families and the way period of 1993 was presented.[17]

From September 30, the film, rose to No. 1 in the overall box office, and the real-time reservation rate rose to No. 1. In addition, the CGV Golden Egg Index, which reflects the satisfaction of actual visitors, rose 1% from the previous day to 96%. The Megabox rating was 9.1 points. The Lotte Cinema rating was 8.8 points, which was a high rating compared to films screened in theaters then. The portal site Naver's rating was also 9.48 points, up 0.15 points from the previous day.[18]

Awards and nominations

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Year Award ceremony Category Nominee(s) Result Ref.
2021 Chunsa Film Art Awards Best New Actress Park So-yi Nominated [19]
2021 Golden Cinematography Awards Best Young Actress Won [20]

References

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  1. ^ a b "South Korea Box Office Pawn (2020)". KOFIC. Retrieved December 7, 2020.
  2. ^ a b Dong, Sun-hwa (October 15, 2020). "Film 'Pawn' conquers box office". The Korea Times. Retrieved October 31, 2020.
  3. ^ "Pawn". HanCinema.
  4. ^ a b Sun-hwa, Dong (October 12, 2020). "Family movie 'Pawn' tops 1 mln admissions on 11th day". Yonhap News. Retrieved October 31, 2020.
  5. ^ Conran, Pierce (October 13, 2020). "PAWN Remains Top Draw Post-Chuseok". KOFIC. Retrieved November 1, 2020.
  6. ^ "KOBIS (Korean Box Office Information System) Yearly". KOFIC. Retrieved January 3, 2021.
  7. ^ a b "HA Ji-won, SUNG Dong-il and KIM Yun-jin Put up COLLATERAL". Korean Film Council. August 26, 2019.
  8. ^ "Ha Ji-won starring 'Pawn' adds new flair to 'tear jerker' films". The Korea Times. August 12, 2020.
  9. ^ Park, Jae-hwan (March 19, 2019). "성동일, 하지원, 그리고 김윤진 영화 <담보>" [Seong Dong-il, Ha Ji-won, and Kim Yoon-jin's movie <Collateral>]. KBS. Retrieved November 1, 2020.
  10. ^ a b Park, Jae-hwan (April 29, 2019). "성동일-하지원-김윤진-김희원, 영화 <담보> 촬영시작" [Sung Dong-il-Ha Ji-won-Kim Yun-jin-Kim Hee-won, filming of the movie <Collateral> begins]. KBS. Retrieved November 1, 2020.
  11. ^ Tartaglione, Nancy (September 22, 2020). "London Korean Film Festival Sets Dates, Partial Program; Will Include Online & Physical Screenings, Plus Bong Joon-Ho Shorts". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved October 31, 2020.
  12. ^ "KOBIS (Korean Box Office Information System) Year 2020". KOFIC. Retrieved May 20, 2021.
  13. ^ "Korean Box Office". HanCinema. Retrieved December 7, 2020.
  14. ^ "담보 (2020)". Cine21. Retrieved October 31, 2020.
  15. ^ "담보 (Pawn)". KOBIS. October 31, 2020.
  16. ^ "담보 Pawn, 2020". Naver 영화. Retrieved January 4, 2021.
  17. ^ Schwartz, William (October 9, 2020). "[HanCinema's Film Review] "Pawn"". HanCinema. Retrieved October 31, 2020.
  18. ^ "하루만에 탈환..'담보' 성동일→하지원, '국제수사' 꺾고 추석 흥행 1위 역전 [종합]" [Recaptured in one day..'Collateral' Seong Dong-il → Ha Ji-won defeated'international investigation' and reversed the 1st place in Chuseok box office [General]]. Chosun (in Korean). October 9, 2020. Retrieved October 31, 2020.
  19. ^ Kim Ji-eun (July 5, 2021). "춘사국제영화제, 본상 후보작 발표…자산어보·승리호 등 23편" [Chunsa International Film Festival Announces Main Award Nominations... 23 films including The Book of Fish and Space Sweepers]. Newsis (in Korean). Naver. Retrieved July 5, 2021.
  20. ^ Hong Se-young (November 22, 2021). "박소이, 황금촬영상 아역상 "촬영장 이모·삼촌들 감사"" [Park So-yi, Golden Cinematography Award for Child Actor “Thanks to my aunts and uncles on set”]. Sports Donga (in Korean). Naver. Retrieved November 22, 2021.
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