The Face Reader

The Face Reader
Korean name
Hangul
관상
Hanja
Revised RomanizationGwansang
McCune–ReischauerKwansang
Directed byHan Jae-rim
Written byKim Dong-hyuk
Produced byKim Woo-jae
Yu Jeong-hun
Ju Pil-ho
StarringSong Kang-ho
Lee Jung-jae
Baek Yoon-sik
Jo Jung-suk
Lee Jong-suk
Kim Hye-soo
CinematographyGo Nak-seon
Edited byKim Chang-ju
Music byLee Byung-woo
Distributed byShowbox Mediaplex
Release date
  • September 11, 2013 (2013-09-11)
Running time
139 minutes
CountrySouth Korea
LanguageKorean
Box officeUS$61 million [1]

The Face Reader (Korean관상; RRGwansang; lit. "Physiognomy") is a 2013 South Korean period action drama film starring Song Kang-ho as the son of a disgraced noble family who goes around Joseon and a gwansang[2] expert. He is able to assess the personality, mental state and habits of a person by looking at his or her face. His talents bring him to the royal courts where he becomes involved in a power struggle between Grand Prince Suyang and general Kim Jong-seo, a high-ranking loyalist to King Munjong.[3][4][5] It is the first installment of the Jupiter Film's three-part film project on the Korean fortune-telling traditions and was followed by two sequels, The Princess and the Matchmaker and Feng Shui in 2018.[6]

The Face Reader became one of the highest-grossing films in South Korea in 2013, with 9.1 million admissions. It won six awards at the 50th Grand Bell Awards, including Best Film, Best Director for Han Jae-rim, and Best Actor for Song Kang-ho.[7][8] This film is Lee Jong-suk's only historical project to date.

  1. ^ "Face Reader (2013)". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 2014-09-16.
  2. ^ Korean version of Physiognomy
  3. ^ Tae, Sang-joon (14 August 2013). "Director and Stars Gather for THE FACE READER Press Conference". Korean Film Council. Retrieved 2013-08-17.
  4. ^ Ho, Stewart (27 March 2012). "Song Kang Ho Cast in His First Historic Movie Physiognomy". enewsWorld. Retrieved 2012-11-19.
  5. ^ Do, Je-hae (2 August 2013). "Period pieces dominate Korean cinema, TV". The Korea Times. Retrieved 2013-08-03.
  6. ^ Park, Jin-hae (13 August 2018). "Land determines one's fate in 'Feng Shui'". The Korea Times. Retrieved 2018-09-16.
  7. ^ Lee, Hyo-won (1 November 2013). "The Face Reader Shines at South Korea's Dae Jong Film Awards". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 2013-11-05.
  8. ^ Conran, Pierce (4 November 2013). "THE FACE READER Picks Up 6 at 50th Grand Bell Awards". Korean Film Council. Retrieved 2013-11-05.