The Host (2006 film)

In 2000, an American military pathologist (Scott Wilson) orders his Korean assistant to dump 200 bottles of formaldehyde down a drain leading into the Han River. Over the next several years, there are sightings of a strange amphibious creature in the waterway, and the fish in the river die off.

In 2006, a slow-witted man named Park Gang-du (Song Kang-ho) runs a small snack bar in a park near the river with his father, Hee-bong (Byun Hee-bong). Other family members are Gang-du's daughter, Hyun-seo (Go Ah-sung); his sister Nam-joo (Bae Doona), a national medalist archer; and his brother, Nam-il (Park Hae-il), an alcoholic college graduate and former political activist.

A huge creature (voiced by Oh Dal-su) emerges from the Han River and begins attacking people. Gang-du tries to grab his daughter from the crowd and run but sees the creature snatching Hyun-seo and diving back into the river. After a mass funeral for the victims, government representatives and the American military arrive and quarantine people who had contact with the creature, including Gang-du and his family. It is announced that the creature is the host of a deadly, unknown virus.

Gang-du receives a phone call from Hyun-seo. She explains that she is trapped in the sewers with the creature, but her phone stops working. Gang-du and his family escape the hospital and purchase supplies from gangsters in order to search for Hyun-seo. Two homeless boys, Se-jin and Se-joo, after raiding Hee-bong's snack bar for food, are attacked and swallowed by the creature. It returns to its sleeping area in the sewer and regurgitates them. Only Se-Joo is alive. Hyun-seo helps Se-Joo hide in a spot the creature cannot reach.

The Parks encounter the creature and shoot at it until they run out of ammunition. Provoked, the creature kills Hee-bong. Gang-du is captured by the Army and Nam-il and Nam-joo are separated from each other. Nam-il meets an old friend (Yim Pil-sung) for help and learns that the government has placed a bounty on his family. The friend tries to capture Nam-il, but he escapes after obtaining Hyun-seo's location. Gang-du overhears an American scientist discussing that there is no virus; it is made up to distract people from the creature's origin. They decide to lobotomize Gang-du to silence him.

While the creature is sleeping, Hyun-seo uses a rope she had made from old clothes to get out of the hole. She realizes that the creature has only feigned sleep to lure her out of hiding. She and Se-joo are swallowed by the creature. Gang-du escapes by taking one of the nurses hostage. Nam-il meets a homeless man (Yoon Je-moon) who helps him. The government announces the plan to release a chemical called Agent Yellow into the river, hoping it will kill the creature. Gang-du finds the creature and sees Hyun-seo's arm hanging out of its mouth. The creature goes to the location where Agent Yellow is released and a large crowd has formed in protest. As it attacks the crowd, Agent Yellow is released, which appears to stun it. Gang-du pulls Hyun-seo out of its mouth and sees her still clutching Se-joo; she has died protecting him.

Gang-du, enraged at his daughter's death, attacks the creature, aided by Nam-il, Nam-joo, and the homeless man. They set it on fire and Gang-du impales it with a pole, finally killing it. As they mourn Hyun-seo, Gang-du revives Se-joo. Some time later, it is seen that Gang-du has adopted Se-joo and has inherited his father's snack bar. While watching the river, he hears something from the river and picks up a shotgun to check out whether there is another monster but nothing is found. He and Se-joo have a meal together, ignoring a news broadcast about the aftermath of the incident.

• Song Kang-ho as Park Gang-du, a clumsy misfit vendor in his father's shop, who often falls asleep. He is often berated by his family members, and his laziness was caused by lack of protein as a child.
• Byun Hee-bong as Park Hee-bong, the father of Gang-du, Nam-il, Nam-joo, and grandfather of Hyun-Seo. He runs the shop near the Han River with Gang-du.
• Park Hae-il as Park Nam-il, an unemployed university graduate and former political activist.
• Bae Doo-na as Park Nam-joo, a national medalist archer, who attempts to use her skills on the monster.
• Go Ah-sung as Park Hyun-seo, the pre-teen daughter of Gang-du who is embarrassed by her family, especially her father. According to her grandfather, her birth was an "accident," and her mother ran away afterwards. She is kidnapped by the Gwoemul, prompting the family to search for her.
• Oh Dal-su as the voice of the Gwoemul, a giant creature mutated by chemicals dumped into the Han River. The Gwoemul attacks any humans that come into its path.
• Lee Jae-eung as Se-jin, the older homeless brother who attempts to steal food from the Park snack shop.
• Lee Dong-ho as Se-joo, the younger homeless brother who follows Se-jin and later befriends Hyun-seo.
• Yoon Je-moon as The homeless man, who helps Nam-il create weapons to battle the monster.
• Yim Pil-sung as Nam-il's senior, "Fat Guevara"
• Kim Roi-ha as Yellow 1 (at the funeral)
• Park No-sik as the inquiry officer
• Go Soo-hee as the hostage nurse
• David Joseph Anselmo as Donald White, a U.S. sergeant residing in South Korea with his girlfriend, who helps Gang-du fight the monster when it first emerges from the Han River.
• Scott Wilson as a U.S. Military doctor, who orders his Korean assistant to dump chemicals into the Han River, creating the Gwoemul.
• Paul Lazar as an American doctor, who speaks with Gang-du about finding his daughter, and reveals a truth.
• Brian Lee as a young Korean doctor, assistant to a U.S. Military doctor, who is ordered to dump chemicals into the Han River, and is later seen translating for Gang-du.

The film was in part inspired by an incident in 2000, in which a Korean mortician working for the U.S. military in Seoul reported that he was ordered to dump a large amount of formaldehyde down the drain. In addition to its environmental concerns, this caused some antagonism toward the United States.[11] The American military stationed in South Korea is portrayed as uncaring about the effects their activities have on the locals. The chemical agent used by the American military to combat the monster in the end, named "Agent Yellow" in a thinly-veiled reference to Agent Orange, was also used to satirical effect.[7] The director, Bong Joon-ho, commented on the issue: "It's a stretch to simplify The Host as an anti-American film, but there is certainly a metaphor and political commentary about the U.S."[12]

Because of its themes, which can be seen as critical of the United States, the film was lauded by North Korean authorities,[13] a rarity for a South Korean blockbuster film.

The film features a satirical portrayal of the South Korean government as bureaucratic, inept, and essentially uncaring. Korean youth protesters are featured satirically in the film, in a mixed way, partially heroic and partially self-righteous and oblivious. According to Bong Joon-ho, the Park Nam-il character is a deliberate anachronism, a reference to South Korea's troubled political history, which involved violent protest. "When you look in terms of this character, it's sort of like the feeling of time going backwards. [...] You could say that he is the image of the college protester back ten years ago; it doesn't exist in the present day."[14]

The film was released theatrically in Australia on August 17, 2006. During the first half of September 2006, it premiered in Japan, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand and Hong Kong. It received a theatrical release in the United Kingdom on November 10, 2006. This was its first official release outside of film festivals, and outside Asia and Australia. Its American release was March 9, 2007. It was also released in France, Ireland, Sweden, Germany, and Spain, amongst other countries.

The Host received screenings on several film festivals. In addition to its opening in Cannes, among the most prominent were the Toronto, Tokyo and New York film festivals. The film swept Korea's Blue Dragon Awards : The Host received five awards, Go Ah-sung took Best New Actress and Byun Hee-bong was awarded as Best Supporting Actor.[15]

The region-2 UK release of the film was released on March 5, 2007, while the region-1 US DVD was released on July 24, 2007, in both single-disc and a two-disc collector's edition in DVD, HD-DVD and Blu-ray Disc formats.[28]

Twitch Film announced on November 3, 2009 that a video game was planned,[29] to be released as a multi-platform first-person shooter.[30] As of April 2020, no game had been released and is assumed to be vaporware.

In June 2007, it was announced that a 3D film - alternately referred to as a sequel or prequel in news reports - was in progress, with a different director.[31][32] The budget for The Host 2 was announced at close to US$12 million , and would be based on a script by webcomic artist Kang Full.[33] An FX demo reel debuted at the Tokyo International Film Festival in 2010 and the projected release date of summer 2012 was announced.[34] However, as of 2020, there have been no further updates on the project and its current status is unknown.

In November 2008, it was announced that Universal Studios would be remaking The Host with Gore Verbinski producing, Mark Poirier writing the script, and first-time director Fredrik Bond directing the film. The film was set for a 2011 release.[35] However, the production has remained in so-called "development hell".

The film appeared on several critics' top ten lists of the best films of 2007.[36]

• 2nd - Ella Taylor, LA Weekly (tied with Manufactured Landscapes)
• 2nd - V.A. Musetto, New York Post
• 4th - Dana Stevens, Slate
• 5th - Marc Mohan, The Oregonian
• 5th - Mike Russell, The Oregonian
• 7th - Desson Thomson, The Washington Post
• 9th - Wesley Morris, The Boston Globe

• Turner, James Lloyd (2012). Monstrous Dialogues: THE HOST and South Korean Inverted Exile. University of South Florida. - master's degree thesis
• "U.S. Army Keeping Close Eye on Han River Monster". Chosun Ilbo. 2006-08-11. Archived from the original on 2008-01-27.

• Official website (in Korean)
• Official website (in English)
• The Host at the Korean Movie Database
• The Host at IMDb
• The Host at AllMovie
• The Host at Rotten Tomatoes
• The Host at Metacritic
• The Host: Creepie Korean Creatures at Animation World Network
• The Language Barrier and the Beast at The Culturatti
• Podcast: Bong Joon-Ho Discusses The Host with The Korea Society