Synopsis

Heungseon Daewongun orders an old friend Park Hyo-cheon to set out on a nationwide search to find hidden talented singers and gisaengs as a means to collect and preserve folk songs spread out all around the country. While on this mission, Park has an affair with Nam-hong, a famous gisaeng from Jinju. Due to her affair with Park, the love-sick Nam-hong fails to perform at the folksong competition. To honor Park’s contributions, Daewongun promotes him as Chief of Jangakwon, the royal institute of music. However, being a free-spirited man who could not be tied down, Park refuses this position and sets out to be with Nam-hong. Despite his rage against Park’s refusal, Daewongun awards him with money and wishes him luck on his journey. Along the vibrant tunes of Korean folk tunes such as Shingosan Taryeong and various versions of Arirang, Kim Jingyu (playing Park) and Seo Young-chun (playing Park’s servant) lead the film with their perfect combination. A top-notch cast including actresses like Kim Ji-mi, Yoon Jeong-hee, Moon Hee, Nam Jeong-yim, Tae Hyun-shil, and Jeon Yang-ja served as a major attraction during its time. Last but not least, music director Jeon Jeongkeun’s arrangement of Korean classic music in modern variations should not be missed. (Chun Jin-su)

Director

• 
  • Kim Hyo-cheon
  • Born in 1935 in Daegu, Gyeongsangbuk-do, Kim Hyo-cheon graduated from Korea Maritime University. He is a representative action film director, with his debut film *I Can't Forget* (1967), a melodrama. However, with a few exceptions, most of the films he directed after 1969 were action thrillers. He wrote the scripts for Im Kwon-taek’s *War and the Elderly* (1962) and Jeong Seung-moon’s *Cheondong* (1963), and as the president of Donghyeop Film Company, he imported dozens of foreign films and produced over 110 films.