X
  • 2011
  • Not Rated
  • Asian Media Rights (AMR)
  • 2 h 7 m
  • 2011
  • Not Rated
  • Asian Media Rights (AMR)
  • 2 h 7 m
The Journals of Musan

Summary Jeon Seung-chul, a North Korean defector, leaves a resettlement in South Korea and takes up residence in a dilapidated home on the outskirts of Seoul. He finds employment putting up advertisement posters, but yearns for human contact. Instead, he befriends a stray dog.

Directed By: Jung-bum Park

Written By: Jung-bum Park

  • 2011
  • Not Rated
  • Asian Media Rights (AMR)
  • 2 h 7 m
  • 2011
  • Not Rated
  • Asian Media Rights (AMR)
  • 2 h 7 m

The Journals of Musan

Metascore Mixed or Average Based on 6 Critic Reviews
56
User Score Available after 4 ratings
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My Score
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Summary Jeon Seung-chul, a North Korean defector, leaves a resettlement in South Korea and takes up residence in a dilapidated home on the outskirts of Seoul. He finds employment putting up advertisement posters, but yearns for human contact. Instead, he befriends a stray dog.

Directed By: Jung-bum Park

Written By: Jung-bum Park

Top Cast

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Critic Reviews

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Metascore
Mixed or Average Based on 6 Critic Reviews
56
50% Positive
3 Reviews
50% Mixed
3 Reviews
0% Negative
0 Reviews

  • All Reviews
  • Positive Reviews
  • Mixed Reviews
  • Negative Reviews

Critic Reviews

 View All
Metascore
Mixed or Average Based on 6 Critic Reviews
56
50% Positive
3 Reviews
50% Mixed
3 Reviews
0% Negative
0 Reviews

  • All Reviews
  • Positive Reviews
  • Mixed Reviews
  • Negative Reviews
80
Aug 15, 2011
Jeon is played to perfection by the director himself. The spare script effectively funnels audience attention into him, who is never less than engaging.
FULL REVIEW
75
Aug 15, 2011
If The Journals of Musan indicates anything, it's that people, for the most part, either can't or simply aren't willing to comprehend the circumstances behind others' actions.
FULL REVIEW
70
Aug 15, 2011
Though it cries out for trimming, "Musan" is a welcome, substantive marker on the current cinema landscape.
FULL REVIEW
60
Aug 16, 2011
An attempt to detail the plight of North Koreans in their new homeland, The Journals of Musan doesn't soft-pedal the hardship; Park, however, apparently felt obligated to stack the deck against the film's passive protagonist to a ridiculous degree.
By David Fear FULL REVIEW
50
Aug 18, 2011
Mr. Park's screenplay, pedestrian direction and stolid performance don't set us up to care.
By Mike Hale FULL REVIEW
50
Aug 16, 2011
Group scenes, meanwhile, often suffer from a peculiar handheld drift, as if in troubling over which insult to add to which injury, the filmmakers neglected to attend to rudimentary blocking.
FULL REVIEW

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Details

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Production Company Secondwind Film
Release Date Aug 19, 2011
Duration 2 h 7 m
Rating Not Rated
Genres
Website http://www.musan-nikki.com/
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Awards

Pusan International Film Festival
• 2 Wins & 2 Nominations
Rotterdam International Film Festival
• 2 Wins & 2 Nominations
Deauville Asian Film Festival
• 1 Win & 2 Nominations

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