{ "id": "epgcmnf7fw", "slug": "public-enemy-2002-film", "title": "Public Enemy (공공의 적) (2002 film)", "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.crime-thriller-mystery", "label": "Crime, thriller, and mystery films (individual works)", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.crime-thriller-mystery" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.crime-thriller-mystery.2000-2004-films", "label": "2000–2004 films", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.crime-thriller-mystery.2000-2004-films" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.crime-thriller-mystery.2000-2004-films.yr-2000-2002", "label": "Released 2000 to 2002", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.crime-thriller-mystery.2000-2004-films.yr-2000-2002" } ], "geo": [ { "id": "geo.asia.t2001.culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.crime-thriller-mystery", "label": "Asia (other) · 2001 to 2020: Crime, thriller, and mystery films (individual works)", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.asia.t2001.culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.crime-thriller-mystery", "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" }, { "id": "geo.asia.t2001.culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.crime-thriller-mystery", "label": "Crime, thriller, and mystery films (individual works)", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.asia.t2001.culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.crime-thriller-mystery" } ] } ], "excerpt": "Public Enemy (공공의 적) is a 2002 South Korean crime action film by Kang Woo-suk, starring Sul Kyung-gu as corrupt detective Kang Chul-joong pursuing fund manager-murderer Cho Gyu-hwan (Lee Sung-jae); Cinema Service release, award-winning, with two sequels.", "snippet": "Public Enemy (공공의 적) is a 2002 South Korean crime action film by Kang Woo-suk, starring Sul Kyung-gu as corrupt detective Kang Chul-joong pursuing fund manager-murderer Cho Gyu-hwan (Lee Sung-jae); Cinema Service release, award-winning, with two sequels.", "node": "culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.crime-thriller-mystery.2000-2004-films.yr-2000-2002", "markdown": "# Public Enemy (공공의 적) (2002 film)\n\n**Public Enemy** (공공의 적; hanja 公共의 敵) is a 2002 South Korean crime action film directed by Kang Woo-suk, in which a corrupt, violent Seoul detective pursues a wealthy fund manager who murdered his own parents. It stars Sul Kyung-gu as detective Kang Chul-joong and [Lee Sung-jae](https://www.edgepedia.org/lee-sung-jae) as Cho Gyu-hwan, was produced and distributed by Cinema Service, and opened in South Korea on 25 January 2002 with a running time of 138 minutes and an adults-only rating (청소년관람불가)[1](https://cine21.com/movie/info/?movie_id=5488). The film became a commercial hit, won Sul Kyung-gu major acting awards, and launched a series built around the Kang Chul-joong character[2](https://host.cine21.com/movie/info/?movie_id=5488).\n\n| Key fact | Detail |\n|---|---|\n| Director / producer | Kang Woo-suk, who also produced through Cinema Service[1](https://cine21.com/movie/info/?movie_id=5488) |\n| Release | 25 January 2002 (the Korean Film Council database lists 24 January 2002)[1](https://cine21.com/movie/info/?movie_id=5488) • [3](https://www.koreanfilm.or.kr/eng/films/index/filmsView.jsp?movieCd=20020065) |\n| Running time / rating | 138 minutes; rated 청소년관람불가 (not suitable for minors)[1](https://cine21.com/movie/info/?movie_id=5488) |\n| Lead cast | Sul Kyung-gu (Kang Chul-joong), Lee Sung-jae (Cho Gyu-hwan), Kang Shin-il (Chief Investigator Uhm)[3](https://www.koreanfilm.or.kr/eng/films/index/filmsView.jsp?movieCd=20020065) |\n| Box office | 1,161,500 admissions recorded in the KOBIS-based year ranking (6th place for 2002); press accounts give higher figures of over 3 million and 5 million tickets[4](https://sijeol.kr/detail/2002/video/movie-kr/video-kr-2002-06) • [5](https://www.koreajoongangdaily.com/lifestyle/director-takes-aim-at-public-enemies-of-society/10949413) • [6](https://www.chosun.com/site/data/html_dir/2005/01/18/2005011870297.html) |\n| Awards | Blue Dragon Award for Best Actor (2002); Paeksang Arts Awards Grand Prize; Daejong Film Awards Best Actor[2](https://host.cine21.com/movie/info/?movie_id=5488) |\n| Sequels | *Another Public Enemy* (2005) and *Kang Chul-joong: Public Enemy 1-1* (2008)[7](https://www.osen.co.kr/article/G0805120089) |\n\n## Spoilers\n\n### Plot and characters\n\nKang Chul-joong is a detective at Seoul's Gangdong police station, specially recruited after winning a silver medal in boxing at the [Asian Games](https://www.edgepedia.org/asian-games), whose rank has only fallen over time. He takes bribes from street vendors, steals drugs from arrested criminals to sell, and ignores his superiors; the Korean Film Council synopsis describes him as \"more vicious than a gangster\"[3](https://www.koreanfilm.or.kr/eng/films/index/filmsView.jsp?movieCd=20020065) • [8](https://cine21.com/news/view/?mag_id=7021).\n\nOn a rainy night while on stake duty, Kang collides with a stranger in a dark alley and the two come to blows, with Kang cut above the eye by a glinting object[1](https://cine21.com/movie/info/?movie_id=5488). A week later, an elderly couple is found stabbed to death. Kang remembers the raincoat-wearing man from the alley, and a knife he had kept matches the wounds on the bodies[9](https://www.koreafilm.or.kr/library/search/video/00008448).\n\nThe suspect is Cho Gyu-hwan, an ambitious fund manager at a respected company who presents himself as a gentleman. When his father intends to withdraw an investment to help an orphanage facing demolition, Cho stabs his parents with a knife dozens of times, leaving no traces[3](https://www.koreanfilm.or.kr/eng/films/index/filmsView.jsp?movieCd=20020065). With no evidence beyond his intuition, Kang pursues Cho through surveillance, interrogation, and beatings, while Cho, backed by money and power, has Kang stripped of his post. Further murders occur and the case deepens into a standoff that neither man can retreat from[9](https://www.koreafilm.or.kr/library/search/video/00008448). The Busan International Film Festival program notes that Kang eventually decides to take justice into his own hands, with a corrupt prosecutor in his way[10](https://www.biff.kr/eng/html/archive/arc_history_view.asp?m_idx=1157&pyear=2002&s1=175).\n\n### Sequels\n\nThe film spawned a series. *[Another Public Enemy](https://www.edgepedia.org/another-public-enemy)* (공공의 적2, 2005) moved Kang Chul-joong from the police to the prosecution: he investigates the death of a foundation chairman's son and pursues the new chairman Han Sang-woo ([Jung Joon-ho](https://www.edgepedia.org/jung-joon-ho)), a former classmate whose elite background masks his crimes. Critics at the time judged it a more socially conscious drama with a clearer antagonist than the first film[6](https://www.chosun.com/site/data/html_dir/2005/01/18/2005011870297.html) • [15](https://www.newswire.co.kr/newsRead.php?no=19338). A prequel, *Kang Chul-joong: Public Enemy 1-1* (강철중: 공공의적 1-1, 2008), continued the collaboration between Kang Woo-suk and Sul Kyung-gu[7](https://www.osen.co.kr/article/G0805120089). The character has remained a reference point for Korean crime cinema; a 2020s commentary on the film *The Roundup* draws a direct line between its hot-tempered protagonist and Kang Chul-joong[20](https://www1.hdec.kr/FileContents/OldFiles/HDEC_NEWSPAPER/007524759.pdf).\n\n## Production\n\nKang Woo-suk, one of South Korea's most commercially successful directors of the 1990s through comedies such as *[Two Cops](https://www.edgepedia.org/two-cops-1993-film)* (1993), wrote and directed the film and produced it through Cinema Service, the company he had founded[10](https://www.biff.kr/eng/html/archive/arc_history_view.asp?m_idx=1157&pyear=2002&s1=175) • [11](https://v.daum.net/v/20260725151447484). The screenplay is credited to Baek Seung-jae, Jung Yoon-seop, Kim Hyun-jung, and Chae Yoon-suk, from an original story by Gu Bon-han; Kim Sung-bok was the cinematographer and Cho Young-wook composed the music[9](https://www.koreafilm.or.kr/library/search/video/00008448) • [1](https://cine21.com/movie/info/?movie_id=5488).\n\nSul Kyung-gu gained over 40 pounds for the role of Kang Chul-joong, and Film at [Lincoln Center](https://www.edgepedia.org/lincoln-center)'s notes credit his chemistry with Lee Sung-jae as central to the film's tone[12](https://www.filmlinc.org/films/public-enemy/). In a 2024 interview Sul Kyung-gu recalled that he took the part because the script by Baek Seung-jae was enjoyable, and described a chaotic, laughter-filled shoot in which actors were told to hit each other for real[13](https://v.daum.net/v/20241002060013657).\n\nA JTBC crime program has reported that the film drew on the Park Han-sang case, a 1990s crime by a wealthy Gangnam resident against his own family, as a motive for the story[14](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JIKd9Hg4Q88).\n\n## Reception and box office\n\nThe film premiered in Korean Panorama at the 7th Busan International Film Festival in 2002, where the program described Kang Woo-suk as combining his familiar comic action conventions with crime-thriller tension and social satire[10](https://www.biff.kr/eng/html/archive/arc_history_view.asp?m_idx=1157&pyear=2002&s1=175). It later screened at festivals including the [Cairo International Film Festival](https://www.edgepedia.org/cairo-international-film-festival) and Seattle International Film Festival (both 2003), Fantasia (2003), the Yubari International Fantastic Film Festival (2005, Korean Cinema Special), the New York Asian Film Festival (2014), and BIFAN (2022)[3](https://www.koreanfilm.or.kr/eng/films/index/filmsView.jsp?movieCd=20020065).\n\nBox office figures differ across sources. The KOBIS-based year ranking records 1,161,500 admissions, placing the film 6th among 2002 Korean releases[4](https://sijeol.kr/detail/2002/video/movie-kr/video-kr-2002-06). Cinema Service's own publicity for the sequel states the film drew over 3 million admissions nationwide[15](https://www.newswire.co.kr/newsRead.php?no=19338), the Korea JoongAng Daily reports it sold more than 3 million tickets[5](https://www.koreajoongangdaily.com/lifestyle/director-takes-aim-at-public-enemies-of-society/10949413), and the Chosun Ilbo writes that it drew more than 5 million in 2002[6](https://www.chosun.com/site/data/html_dir/2005/01/18/2005011870297.html). These figures have not been reconciled in the available record.\n\nBefore release, about 100 violent-crime detectives from Seoul police stations attended a preview screening. Kang Woo-suk appeared on stage and apologized for once again depicting bad cops after his *Two Cops* series, presenting the film as an encouragement to detectives fighting social evil; the audience of detectives reportedly laughed throughout and applauded when Kang Chul-joong finally fells the serial killer[16](https://host.cine21.com/news/view/?idx=1&mag_id=6872).\n\n## Themes and place in Korean cinema\n\nKorean film criticism has read the film as a turning point in how cinema portrays the police. The Kyunghyang Shinmun notes that where the *Two Cops* films of a decade earlier satirized police corruption, in *Public Enemy* the corrupt detective becomes a guardian of justice once he confronts a killer who harms ordinary people, a shift the paper links to the changed public mood of 2002, the year [Roh Moo-hyun](https://www.edgepedia.org/roh-moo-hyun) was elected president[17](https://www.khan.co.kr/article/201711121408001).\n\nAn academic study of 2000s Korean comedy places *Public Enemy* in the police-and-prosecution comedy type and argues that the liberal political affect it carries spread across Korean cinema of the decade[18](https://journal.kci.go.kr/kdrama/archive/articlePdf?artiId=ART003109709). The Korean Film Council's English-language profile calls it one of the best Korean cop movies and compares the Kang Chul-joong character to [Dirty Harry](https://www.edgepedia.org/dirty-harry), a character whose name itself represents a genre[19](https://www.koreanfilm.or.kr/view/news.jsp?category=IN_FOCUS&seq=180).\n\n## References\n\n1. [공공의 적 (Public Enemy) 상세정보, 씨네21](https://cine21.com/movie/info/?movie_id=5488)\n2. [공공의 적 (Public Enemy) 수상내역, 씨네21](https://host.cine21.com/movie/info/?movie_id=5488)\n3. [Public Enemy (2002), Korean Film Council (KOBIZ)](https://www.koreanfilm.or.kr/eng/films/index/filmsView.jsp?movieCd=20020065)\n4. [〈공공의 적〉 (2002), 그시절 보관소 (KOBIS 연도별 박스오피스 기반)](https://sijeol.kr/detail/2002/video/movie-kr/video-kr-2002-06)\n5. [Director takes aim at 'public enemies' of society, Korea JoongAng Daily](https://www.koreajoongangdaily.com/lifestyle/director-takes-aim-at-public-enemies-of-society/10949413)\n6. [한국 영화도 '續' 보인다, 조선일보 (2005)](https://www.chosun.com/site/data/html_dir/2005/01/18/2005011870297.html)\n7. [설경구의 남자들 – 강우석 이성재 정준호 정재영, OSEN](https://www.osen.co.kr/article/G0805120089)\n8. [공공의 적/휴먼 네이쳐/이소룡을 찾아랏!, 씨네21 (2002)](https://cine21.com/news/view/?mag_id=7021)\n9. [공공의 적, 한국영상자료원 영상도서관 (KMDb 자료)](https://www.koreafilm.or.kr/library/search/video/00008448)\n10. [Public Enemy, 7th Busan International Film Festival Korean Panorama (2002)](https://www.biff.kr/eng/html/archive/arc_history_view.asp?m_idx=1157&pyear=2002&s1=175)\n11. [시네마서비스, 영화 투자·배급 재개, 다음뉴스 (2026)](https://v.daum.net/v/20260725151447484)\n12. [Public Enemy, Film at Lincoln Center](https://www.filmlinc.org/films/public-enemy/)\n13. [설경구 \"'공공의 적' 강철중 대본 재밌으면 한다\", SS백브리핑 (2024)](https://v.daum.net/v/20241002060013657)\n14. [영화 '공공의 적' 모티브…강남 금수저의 패륜 범죄 '박한상 사건', JTBC 사건반장](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JIKd9Hg4Q88)\n15. [전편보다 센, 진짜 '공공의 적'과의 피할 수 없는 대결, 뉴스와이어 (2004)](https://www.newswire.co.kr/newsRead.php?no=19338)\n16. [강력반 형사들 〈공공의 적〉 관람, 씨네21 뉴스 (2002)](https://host.cine21.com/news/view/?idx=1&mag_id=6872)\n17. [〈투캅스〉부터 〈범죄도시〉까지···영화는 경찰의 거울, 경향신문 (2017)](https://www.khan.co.kr/article/201711121408001)\n18. [한국예술연구 제82집, KCI](https://journal.kci.go.kr/kdrama/archive/articlePdf?artiId=ART003109709)\n19. [Public Enemy (2002) IN FOCUS, Korean Film Council](https://www.koreanfilm.or.kr/view/news.jsp?category=IN_FOCUS&seq=180)\n20. [HDEC 신문 자료: 베테랑과 공공의 적 시리즈 비교](https://www1.hdec.kr/FileContents/OldFiles/HDEC_NEWSPAPER/007524759.pdf)\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 › Crime, thriller, and mystery films (individual works) › 2000–2004 films › Released 2000 to 2002*\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/public-enemy-2002-film", "markdown_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/public-enemy-2002-film.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": "\"Public Enemy (공공의 적) (2002 film)\", Edgepedia (EdgeChat), https://www.edgepedia.org/public-enemy-2002-film. Edgepedia Community License 1.0.", "credit_md": "\"[Public Enemy (공공의 적) (2002 film)](https://www.edgepedia.org/public-enemy-2002-film)\", Edgepedia (EdgeChat), [https://www.edgepedia.org/public-enemy-2002-film](https://www.edgepedia.org/public-enemy-2002-film). [Edgepedia Community License 1.0](https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license).", "credit_html": "\"Public Enemy (공공의 적) (2002 film)\", Edgepedia (EdgeChat), https://www.edgepedia.org/public-enemy-2002-film. Edgepedia Community License 1.0.", "speakable": "Public Enemy is a 2002 South Korean crime action film by Kang Woo-suk, starring Sul Kyung-gu as corrupt detective Kang Chul-joong pursuing fund manager-murderer Cho Gyu-hwan; Cinema Service release, award-winning, with two sequels." }