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Youths Over Flowers bros Jung Woo, Kang Haneul consider movie reunion

I’m always a sucker for real-life bromance carrying over into fiction. Some of the cutest Youths Over Flowers in Iceland bromance moments came from Jung Woo (Himalayas) and Kang Haneul (Like for Likes), who had become friends after co-starring in the folk band movie C’est Si Bon together. They just had a really cute doting hyung/adoring dongsaeng relationship that seemed genuine, so I’m excited for the prospect of them reuniting for another movie.

They’re both considering a film called Retrial, a human drama based on a real-life murder case that brought to light some shamefully corrupt practices in the prosecutor’s office and a local police department. In 2000, a taxi driver was stabbed multiple times at an intersection in the town of Iksan in Jeollabuk-do, and a young man who came forward as a witness was arrested as the prime suspect. At the time, he insisted that someone else had committed the crime, but police officers beat and tortured him until he gave a false confession. In the end he was sentenced to ten years imprisonment, and he was 15 years old at the time.

In 2003, the police investigated a tip that the real killer was still at large, and eventually arrested a man who confessed to the stabbing (which began as a robbery, when he got into the taxi intending to rob the driver), and an accomplice who had helped him escape the scene of the crime. The cops brought this to the prosecutor’s office, who refused to bring charges against the men for lack of evidence. Because it would be embarrassing to admit that they’d sentenced the WRONG MAN to ten years in prison?! Is your blood boiling yet?

The witness who was falsely imprisoned served his entire term and was released in 2010. The case was finally approved for a retrial in 2015, when there were only two months left on the statute of limitations for the crime. But a change in the law — removing the statute of limitations on murder cases — came into effect just weeks before this case would’ve been forced to close. Notably, the new law applies to murders that take place on August 8, 2000 or later, and the taxi driver was killed on August 10, 2000.

Kang Haneul is up to play the wrongfully imprisoned murder suspect, and Jung Woo has been offered the role of the lawyer who defends him in the retrial. Ugh, they’re going to make me cry, I’m sure of it. Directing is Kim Tae-yoon, of the heartwarming family movie Another Family.

Retrial plans to begin shoots in July. And just because:

Via My Daily, Oh My News

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Yes please!!!!

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Sad that real life dramas like this don't just stay in dramaland.

I already envision myself watching the movie and screaming curses at the prosecutors. Abd the kid was 15! 15 to 25 - those years are the years that generally set anyone up for life and they robbed it from him!

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And they did that to a child who came forward as a witness. How cam we rage at the bystander effect then, if such things happen in the very agency that was supposed to uphold justice?!

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*is raging with you*

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Just reading the synopsis puts me in rage mode already.

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seriously, things like this make me want to go Hulk smash on the corrupt. I mean, not only was he the witness who came forward, but like you said - a CHILD, and looking at it he's the same age as me.

Incidents like this really bring it home just why bystanders/passerby in some parts of Asia tend to avoid people in obvious distress/bad situations - no one wants to end up going to jail for common decency.

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ohmygod. I'm so gonna cry watching this.

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that bromance! you two melt my heart.

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This sounds like it's going to be a fantastic film.

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Omg!! It's a true story?? Was he compensated at all?? The injustice!!

On the other hand, I would love for them to take on the roles. I'll definitely be crying a river.

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I was excited about the news and everything, because I love the 4 Stones (and I was rooting for Jo Jungseok to jump on too, so that we can get BTSes of them singing with guitars everywhere).

Now that I've known the premise though, it's so...heavy. I thought it would be more fun and light-hearted.

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No matter how cold and evil I am (not my words lol) on a daily basis, my heart just cannot handle stories like this, especially when they're real-life cases. I still have a hole in my heart thanks to Silenced and Han Gongju /cries/

But knowing myself, there is a huge possibility that I would still watch this...

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"...and a young man who came forward as a witness was arrested as the prime suspect."
I had to stop the second I read this statement as I immediately pictured Haneul struggling as he's being dragged into jail. such perfect casting. oh. this will bring in major tears.

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This gonna be a very heavy movie. plus these two. I will watch them in anything.

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I have the world's biggest granny crush on Kang Ha neul. I just watched "Likes for Likes" last week and he is so precious.

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A little bit off topic but did anyone find YOF Iceland subbed anywhere? I think I need to finally give up and just watch it raw (with JB and GF's recaps in the background). :-(

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Please tell me that justice was eventually served.

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The story just reminds me of Signal and tons other police procedural/legal dramas where the police, prosecutor, lawyer, judge, etc painted as corrupt officials and wrongfully accused/punished a person. Just WTF, can't they just investigate properly beforehand and admit their mistakes if it's already happened? Poor the young man and I can already portray Kang Haneul as the poor, mistaken criminal.

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Exactly. This sounds like it came straight out of Signal!

Isn't/aren't the Signal writer(s) just plain awesome for already having thunked up a similar plot line to this real-life incident??? I'm not talking about the part where someone innocent gets falsely accused and sits out their term--for, as kanz kindly points out, it's an age-old storyline that we've seen done and done again--but it's the part about the statute of limitations on murder cases being revised that seems directly pulled from Signal.

A'way, I'm glad there are people out there who don't give up. Kudos to those unknown heroes who persevere in trying to serve justice correctly no matter how much time has passed. And it's great that dramas like Signal, and now movies like this one, bring attention to atrocities like these.

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"Because it would be embarrassing to admit that they’d sentenced the WRONG MAN..."

I had very hard time watching Signal because of that typical "embarrassment" argument. What? Why? I wanted to throw my laptop out of the window every other ep! I just couldn't believe that it is an argument at all. It cannot be, right? But seeing that it has actually happened in real life then, well, I've been sooooo naive.

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Me and my mom just started watching Signal this weekend (which is amazing so far) and we were even questioning if stuff like that really happens in real life. Then I come here and read this article and stunned that it does actually happen. So sad.

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Oh God, after portraying Dongju in A Potret of a Poet, now this? KHN will surely twist my heart and made me sob for him.

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Omg this seems super legit as we have JW and (hopefully) KHN portraying the main leads! Loooove them and the synopsis seems like it's going to bring a lot of tears (which im totally fine anyway)

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I am ragging. They put a child in prison and kept him there simply to cover up their own mistakes. I'm tearing up...the damage, the heat break, the destruction of life not only to him but also to his family, friends, teachers, anyone that has ever known or cared about that child. Even now released knowing the stigma that comes with such situations...can you imagine what they and their family had to endure snd still maybe do. Sadly situations like this are all too common. The story kind of reminds me of the Central Park 5 (five black teenagers falsely accused trailed, corrupt cops, and imprisoned for a rape and robbery they did not commit). In Korea can you die the goverment and justice system (the prosecutors and cops) for some kind of justice like you can here in the US? It's just crushing...I hope that victim has somehow gotten their life together and hasn't allowed this to define them. I hope they have found work, family, something that bring them joy and are a happy functional part of society.

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If they need to cast KHN's character's younger version, they have to cast Nam Da-Reum (6FD). That kids is sooo good. And he is 15yo in Korean age.

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Blood boiling? Check.
Cursing loudly? Check.
Completely outraged? Check.
Can I watch this movie? Absolutely no.
Stuff like this lingers with me for a long time.
Too bad because I love Ha Neul.

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Ugh I'm already getting teary-eyed just from reading your description, Girlfriday T.T

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Why don't they make it as drama because the story is sooo promising. It remind me of Pinocchio where the story is also based on true story about a captain of boat is accused left the boat when it sink and the reporters are blame him. The family is suffer from humiliated from people. Later on they found the body of the captain INSIDE the boat!

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i had to read the story a few times to try and sort it out in my head—so what happened to the real life case?? did it make it to trial?

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It must be a touching story. I can't wait to see Ha Neul in this new project

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In the first picture, Kang Haneul's face looks like it's floating.

A handsome floating face, but still totally funny.

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This movie is going to make me cry buckets, isn't it? Sigh.

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