Bunshinsaba...Abandon Hope all Ye Who Enter the Village

As promised yesterday, last night I saw a Korean horror movie: 분신사바/Bunshinsaba.

First, though, there was time to kill before the movie so a little sam-gyup-sal was in order. We went to Don Don Restaurant in Jong-no (downtown) where there was an interesting concept. It's on the fourth floor and is entirely open-air...but they still had fans and air conditioners on full blast, too. Also, the condiments (쌈장/ssam-jang or bean paste, 상추/sang-choo or lettuce, 미역국/mi-yok-gook or kelp soup and other goodies that are hand-delivered in most restaurants were self-service after the initial place-setting. This was cool for me as (i) I love 쌈장 and 상추 with my pork and (ii) we were seated right next to the buffet. They also cut the pork right in front of you (Koreans are always trying to differentiate themselves, especially regarding food). Trouble is, it kinda reminded me of Lorena Bobbit...dooough!

Next stop was ice cream at LG25 (LG's answer to 7-11...is it really open 25 hours a day?) and try my hand at shooting a Gatling gun. Not a real one, mind you, it shoots pellets. (I'd like to see how my G.I. buddies do at that one.) Of course, the place was staffed by 2 little Korean gals (all the better to lure in the men), one of which was a pretty good shot with the Beretta.


Cutting the Pig; Shooting the Gatling; Scaring the Girls

They say that fear for Koreans is different from us Westerners (see article) but I think it had many similarities to the Western genre...although the setting and plot was a little different. I won't reveal too much, but let's just say that the director did a good job of creating a lot of suspense and fright in that theatre. There was one gal there who went just berserk at about every scary scene (especially in the beginning) and everyone laughed after each outburst. I think she was scared enough for the whole room. Hahaha. Just hilarious. Without that comic relief it would have been a lot scarier, I think.


Scenes from the movie...walking...a hand...raising her face (!)...then the final scene...and afterward.

Some pics above from the film--sorry, figured out my zoom after the first couple, and the lighting, as you might imagine, was not optimal. The effects were minimal compared to I, Robot but very, very effective for this movie. Afterward I took a picture of a lighted billboard. The girl in the white dress wasn't there when I took it...she must be a ghost! Ok, that's a joke, but it sure sounds scary. 푸하하하!