{ "id": "ep9jdgfprp", "slug": "an-outing", "title": "An Outing (외출)", "updated": "2026-11-01", "topic_path": [ { "id": "culture", "label": "Arts and culture", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture" }, { "id": "culture.performance", "label": "Screen and stage", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen", "label": "Film and television", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.films", "label": "Films and standalone screen works", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.films" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works", "label": "Individual films by title and year", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.erotic-thrillers-and-dramas", "label": "Erotic thrillers and dramas", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.erotic-thrillers-and-dramas" } ], "geo": [ { "id": "geo.asia.t2001.culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works", "label": "Asia (other) · 2001 to 2020: Individual films by title and year", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.asia.t2001.culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works", "path": [ { "id": "geo.asia", "label": "Asia (other)", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.asia" }, { "id": "geo.asia.t2001", "label": "Asia (other) · 2001 to 2020", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.asia.t2001" }, { "id": "geo.asia.t2001.culture", "label": "Arts and culture", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.asia.t2001.culture" }, { "id": "geo.asia.t2001.culture.performance", "label": "Screen and stage", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.asia.t2001.culture.performance" }, { "id": "geo.asia.t2001.culture.performance.screen", "label": "Film and television", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.asia.t2001.culture.performance.screen" }, { "id": "geo.asia.t2001.culture.performance.screen.films", "label": "Films and standalone screen works", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.asia.t2001.culture.performance.screen.films" }, { "id": "geo.asia.t2001.culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works", "label": "Individual films by title and year", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.asia.t2001.culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works" } ] } ], "excerpt": "An Outing (외출), internationally titled April Snow, is Hur Jin-ho's 2005 Korean romance starring Bae Yong-joon and Son Ye-jin; spouses' affair revealed by a car crash, record Japanese box office via Hallyu.", "snippet": "An Outing (외출), internationally titled April Snow, is Hur Jin-ho's 2005 Korean romance starring Bae Yong-joon and Son Ye-jin; spouses' affair revealed by a car crash, record Japanese box office via Hallyu.", "node": "culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.erotic-thrillers-and-dramas", "markdown": "# An Outing (외출)\n\n**An Outing** (외출), released internationally as **April Snow**, is a 2005 South Korean romantic drama directed by Hur Jin-ho, starring [Bae Yong-joon](https://www.edgepedia.org/bae-yong-joon) and [Son Ye-jin](https://www.edgepedia.org/son-ye-jin) as a man and woman who meet at a hospital after their spouses, who were having an affair together, are seriously injured in a car accident.[1](https://koreanfilm.or.kr/eng/films/index/filmsView.jsp?movieCd=20050220) • [2](https://www.koreanfilm.or.kr/eng/news/news.jsp?blbdComCd=601008&mode=VIEW&seq=215) The film was a modest performer in Korea but became one of the most commercially successful Korean films ever released in Japan, driven by Bae Yong-joon's Korean Wave (Hallyu) stardom.[3](https://www.screendaily.com/april-snow-wae-chul/4024457.article)\n\n| Key fact | Detail |\n|---|---|\n| Director / cast | Hur Jin-ho; Bae Yong-joon, Son Ye-jin, Ryu Seung-soo, Kim Kwang-il[1](https://koreanfilm.or.kr/eng/films/index/filmsView.jsp?movieCd=20050220) |\n| Release | September 7, 2005 (South Korea); 105 minutes; rated 19[1](https://koreanfilm.or.kr/eng/films/index/filmsView.jsp?movieCd=20050220) |\n| Korean box office | 678,342 admissions on 244 screens; gross US$3,196,308[1](https://koreanfilm.or.kr/eng/films/index/filmsView.jsp?movieCd=20050220) |\n| Japanese presale | Sold to a Japanese distributor for US$7–8 million before the film was completed[4](https://documents1.worldbank.org/curated/en/438801468024634047/pdf/372570EAP0Post101OFFICIAL0USE0ONLY1.pdf) |\n| Japanese opening | US$2.8 million from 413 screens, a record opening for a Korean film in Japan[3](https://www.screendaily.com/april-snow-wae-chul/4024457.article) |\n| Japanese total | ¥2.75 billion (about US$24.2 million) on 400 screens, then the second most successful Korean film in Japan[5](https://www.koreanfilm.or.kr/eng/news/news.jsp?blbdComCd=601006&mode=VIEW&pageRowSize=10&seq=420) |\n| Festivals | San Sebastian (Official Section), Toronto (Special Presentations), and Chicago (Competition), all 2005[1](https://koreanfilm.or.kr/eng/films/index/filmsView.jsp?movieCd=20050220) |\n\n## Spoilers\n\n### Plot\n\nIn-su is summoned to a hospital in Gangwon Province because his wife Su-jin has been in a car accident and lies unconscious in serious condition. There he meets Seo-young, whose husband Kyung-ho was in the same car and is also in a coma. It soon becomes clear that Su-jin and Kyung-ho were having a secret relationship. In-su and Seo-young move through grief, anger, and fear for their spouses' recovery, and gradually begin to notice feelings for each other growing.[1](https://koreanfilm.or.kr/eng/films/index/filmsView.jsp?movieCd=20050220) A contemporary review described the setup as a familiar one, but noted Hur's slow, deliberate handling of the material and the appeal of the two leads.[3](https://www.screendaily.com/april-snow-wae-chul/4024457.article)\n\n## Production and the Hallyu context\n\n**Casting as a pan-Asian project.** Hur Jin-ho had established himself with *Christmas in August* (1998) and *One Fine Spring Day* (2001), and *April Snow* paired him with Bae Yong-joon at the peak of his fame as one of the early stars of the [Korean Wave](https://www.edgepedia.org/korean-wave), particularly in Japan, where the television drama *Winter Sonata* had made him a phenomenon.[6](https://www.koreanfilm.or.kr/eng/news/ko_pick.jsp?blbdComCd=601029&mode=VIEW&seq=69) • [2](https://www.koreanfilm.or.kr/eng/news/news.jsp?blbdComCd=601008&mode=VIEW&seq=215) The film was marketed as Korea's first Asia-wide blockbuster ahead of its September release.[7](https://www.screendaily.com/april-snow-set-to-engulf-asia/4022438.article)\n\nThe production attracted extraordinary press attention. A March 2005 press junket organized by distributor Show East drew 350 local and international journalists, and roughly 100 Japanese journalists reportedly traveled to Korea at their own expense to photograph Bae on set. The film was shot in Samcheok on Korea's eastern coast, about a four-hour bus ride from Seoul, and the town was already planning location tours for Japanese fans modeled on the *Winter Sonata* pilgrimages.[2](https://www.koreanfilm.or.kr/eng/news/news.jsp?blbdComCd=601008&mode=VIEW&seq=215)\n\nThe commercial stakes were set before the film was finished. *April Snow* was presold to a Japanese distributor for between US$7 million and US$8 million, and Show East planned a nearly simultaneous release in China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Taiwan, and Thailand, which the company claimed would be the biggest simultaneous release for an Asian film.[4](https://documents1.worldbank.org/curated/en/438801468024634047/pdf/372570EAP0Post101OFFICIAL0USE0ONLY1.pdf) A Korean distribution-industry interview records the film's export total as US$7 million, crediting much of it to Bae's drawing power.[8](https://siff.kr/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/s_now20_fin_1224.pdf)\n\n## Release and Japanese box office\n\nThe film opened in South Korea on September 7 or 8, 2005 on 244 screens and sold 678,342 admissions, grossing US$3,196,308.[1](https://koreanfilm.or.kr/eng/films/index/filmsView.jsp?movieCd=20050220) • [9](https://www.koreanfilm.or.kr/eng/news/boxOffice_Yearly.jsp?category=ALL&country=K&mode=BOXOFFICE_YEAR&selectDt=2005) It ranked 37th among 2005's Korean releases by admissions.[9](https://www.koreanfilm.or.kr/eng/news/boxOffice_Yearly.jsp?category=ALL&country=K&mode=BOXOFFICE_YEAR&selectDt=2005)\n\nIn Japan, where it opened on September 17, 2005, the film took US$2.8 million in its opening weekend from 413 screens, a new record for a Korean film in the Japanese market. Distributor UIP sold 1.5 million advance tickets, most of them bought by Bae's fan base, and predicted a total between US$22.5 million (¥2.5 billion) and US$27 million, which would have made it the highest-grossing Korean film ever released in Japan.[3](https://www.screendaily.com/april-snow-wae-chul/4024457.article) • [10](https://www.screendaily.com/april-snow-blankets-japanese-box-office/4024428.article) The original version was released on 400 screens, a record number of prints for a Japanese release, and went on to gross US$24.2 million (¥2.75 billion), making it the second most successful Korean film in Japan at the time, behind *A Moment to Remember*, which surpassed it in December 2005 with US$22 million (¥2.7 billion) as of December 4.[5](https://www.koreanfilm.or.kr/eng/news/news.jsp?blbdComCd=601006&mode=VIEW&pageRowSize=10&seq=420) • [11](https://www.screendaily.com/moment-to-remember-breaks-japanese-record/4025433.article) [Box Office Mojo](https://www.edgepedia.org/box-office-mojo) records a Japan total of US$21,669,807 alongside smaller takes in Hong Kong, Taiwan, Thailand, and France, for a reported international total of US$24,873,159.[12](https://www.boxofficemojo.com/releasegroup/gr544756229/) A 2015 Korea.net publication lists the film's Japanese profit as 2.75 billion yen and notes that it was significantly better received in Japan than at home.[13](https://www.korea.net/koreanet/fileDownload?fileUrl=pdfdata%2F2016%2F01%2FK-MOVIE2015_en_0105.pdf)\n\nIn 2006 a director's cut with completely new scenes, extended scenes, and a different ending, adding 30 minutes of footage, screened at Toho Cinemas in Tokyo and Osaka; first-day advance sales at the two theaters set an all-time record for a single film in Japan.[5](https://www.koreanfilm.or.kr/eng/news/news.jsp?blbdComCd=601006&mode=VIEW&pageRowSize=10&seq=420)\n\n## Reception and aftermath\n\nThe film screened in the Official Section at San Sebastian, in Special Presentations at Toronto, and in [Competition](https://www.edgepedia.org/competition) at Chicago in 2005, with further festival appearances in 2006 at Deauville, Osian's-Cinefan, Fukuoka, and Edinburgh.[1](https://koreanfilm.or.kr/eng/films/index/filmsView.jsp?movieCd=20050220) Son Ye-jin was named best actress at the Asia-Pacific Film Festival for her performance.[14](https://www.imdb.com/fr/title/tt0448663/news/) Critical response was mixed: a Screen Daily review called the film formulaic but predicted success with sympathetic audiences, while a Senses of Cinema critic wrote that the characters never become more than pawns of a purely sentimental story.[3](https://www.screendaily.com/april-snow-wae-chul/4024457.article) • [15](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/april_snow)\n\nThe film marked a turning point in Hur's career and in his working relationships. He later said he cast Son Ye-jin again in *The Last Princess* (2016) because working with her on *April Snow* had convinced him of her ability, and he had even encouraged her to try writing a screenplay during the earlier production.[16](https://www.viva100.com/article/201903013596114) Korean commentary places *April Snow* after *One Fine Spring Day* as part of the run of melodramas, including *Happiness* (2007) and *A Good Rain Knows* (2009), that established Hur as a leading Korean director of the genre.[17](https://www.osen.co.kr/article/G1111286347)\n\n## Other films titled 외출\n\nThe Korean title 외출 (\"outing\") has been used by other films. A 2015 South Korean romance of 80 minutes directed by Ki De-ho, starring Jeon So-yeon, Jeong Hyun-seung, and [Lee Hyun](https://www.edgepedia.org/lee-hyun)-won, carries 외출 as its title with \"Outing\" as its English title.[18](https://filmarks.com/movies/114869) Kim Soo-yong's 1977 film *화려한 외출* (*A Splendid Outing*), about a business executive abducted to a remote island by a man who insists she is his vanished wife, contains 외출 within its Korean title but is a distinct work.[19](https://www.filmlinc.org/films/a-splendid-outing/) A 2021 Lee Yu-jin short drama titled *나들이* has been translated as \"Outing\" in English-language listings.[20](https://letterboxd.com/film/outing-2021/)\n\n## References\n\n1. [April Snow (2005), Korean Film Council (KOFIC) database](https://koreanfilm.or.kr/eng/films/index/filmsView.jsp?movieCd=20050220)\n2. [Asian press flock to set of April Snow, KOFIC Korean Film News, March 23, 2005](https://www.koreanfilm.or.kr/eng/news/news.jsp?blbdComCd=601008&mode=VIEW&seq=215)\n3. [April Snow (Wae Chul) review, Screen Daily, September 21, 2005](https://www.screendaily.com/april-snow-wae-chul/4024457.article)\n4. [East Asia post-crisis trade and investment report, World Bank](https://documents1.worldbank.org/curated/en/438801468024634047/pdf/372570EAP0Post101OFFICIAL0USE0ONLY1.pdf)\n5. [New Version of April Snow Breaks Record in Japan, KOFIC Korean Film News, 2006](https://www.koreanfilm.or.kr/eng/news/news.jsp?blbdComCd=601006&mode=VIEW&pageRowSize=10&seq=420)\n6. [Ko-pick: The Enduring Duo: Director Hur Jin-ho & Composer Cho Sungwoo, KOFIC](https://www.koreanfilm.or.kr/eng/news/ko_pick.jsp?blbdComCd=601029&mode=VIEW&seq=69)\n7. [April Snow set to engulf Asia, Screen Daily, March 22, 2005](https://www.screendaily.com/april-snow-set-to-engulf-asia/4022438.article)\n8. [Seoul Independent Film Festival NOW No. 20, interview with M-Line Distribution](https://siff.kr/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/s_now20_fin_1224.pdf)\n9. [Yearly Box Office 2005, KOFIC Korean Film Biz Zone](https://www.koreanfilm.or.kr/eng/news/boxOffice_Yearly.jsp?category=ALL&country=K&mode=BOXOFFICE_YEAR&selectDt=2005)\n10. [April Snow blankets Japanese box office, Screen Daily, September 20, 2005](https://www.screendaily.com/april-snow-blankets-japanese-box-office/4024428.article)\n11. [Moment To Remember breaks Japanese record, Screen Daily, December 7, 2005](https://www.screendaily.com/moment-to-remember-breaks-japanese-record/4025433.article)\n12. [April Snow, Box Office Mojo](https://www.boxofficemojo.com/releasegroup/gr544756229/)\n13. [The World's Spotlight on Korean Film, Korea.net (K-MOVIE 2015)](https://www.korea.net/koreanet/fileDownload?fileUrl=pdfdata%2F2016%2F01%2FK-MOVIE2015_en_0105.pdf)\n14. [April Snow (2005) news, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/fr/title/tt0448663/news/)\n15. [April Snow, Rotten Tomatoes (critics reviews)](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/april_snow)\n16. [The Last Princess: why Hur Jin-ho chose Son Ye-jin, The Bridge Economy, March 2019](https://www.viva100.com/article/201903013596114)\n17. [Forbidden Dream interview with Hur Jin-ho, OSEN, January 1, 2020](https://www.osen.co.kr/article/G1111286347)\n18. [Outing (2015), Filmarks](https://filmarks.com/movies/114869)\n19. [A Splendid Outing, Film at Lincoln Center](https://www.filmlinc.org/films/a-splendid-outing/)\n20. [Outing (2021), Letterboxd](https://letterboxd.com/film/outing-2021/)\n\n---\n*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Films and standalone screen works › Individual films by title and year › Erotic thrillers and dramas*\n\n*Initially written Oct 3, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*\n\n*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*\n\nLicense: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license\n", "same_as": [], "url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/an-outing", "markdown_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/an-outing.md", "license": { "name": "Edgepedia Community License 1.0", "url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license", "summary": "Free with credit, commercial use included. AI training is open to everyone. For other uses, organizations over USD 100M in revenue or 100M monthly users license separately.", "spdx": "LicenseRef-Edgepedia-Community-1.0" }, "credit": "\"An Outing (외출)\", Edgepedia (EdgeChat), https://www.edgepedia.org/an-outing. Edgepedia Community License 1.0.", "credit_md": "\"[An Outing (외출)](https://www.edgepedia.org/an-outing)\", Edgepedia (EdgeChat), [https://www.edgepedia.org/an-outing](https://www.edgepedia.org/an-outing). [Edgepedia Community License 1.0](https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license).", "credit_html": "\"An Outing (외출)\", Edgepedia (EdgeChat), https://www.edgepedia.org/an-outing. Edgepedia Community License 1.0.", "speakable": "An Outing, internationally titled April Snow, is Hur Jin-ho's 2005 Korean romance starring Bae Yong-joon and Son Ye-jin; spouses' affair revealed by a car crash, record Japanese box office via Hallyu." }